Ace Combat: The Black Ivory Tower
by JohnnyFrost
Summary: Blaze and Nagase are reluctantly drawn back into war after a sudden tragedy and join a reborn Wardog Squadron. Wardog and all of Osea are soon thrust into in a brutal war with a ruthless, avaricious Versua...armed with a weapon of unimaginable power.
1. Cold Lightning

Chapter 1: Cold Lightning

_**October 1, 2016**_

_**Christos, Verusa **_

_**1900 hrs.**_

They'd finished the weapon a long time ago. Six years to be exact. It had taken that long before the 2010 war north of their country to finally unite it. And now that was finally done, there was only time, not for rebuilding, but for construction. And for six long years they toiled and worked. Some worked to death, but they worked. They were some place where a random town once existed. But random towns were ripe in Verusa. They were a "a dime a dozen" as the Oseans would say. These towns had no name before and the people lived on despite sixty years of civil war. But one had to be razed to make progress for the future.

Verusa had long been a divided war torn nation and every country had settled it, exploited, pillaged, or even raped it….or all four. But when it wasn't invaded, they were tearing themselves apart. Versua was an insane jumble of cultures, factions, religions and nationalities. Then, in 2004...everything changed. While Usea tore itself apart with its own war, a new power emerged with the promise of peace and fair treatment. They called themselves the White Crow Party. They had come out of decades of hard work and secrecy. But they were finally here to unite this divided hell.

William Masson was the architect of this rebuilding. Masson was a dreamer to many...a visionary. But to others, he was a dangerous madman or delusional war-criminal. But in reality, he did what no one else could: he brought this untamed land to heel. He did it with a mix of kindness and brute, ruthless force. But it was slow and painful. For six years they toiled and battled and on September 27, 2010, the day Yuktobania and Osea began fighting...Masson's planes, troops, and tanks rolled and flew into Ciudad...and victory was won. The cost had been high, but Verusa was whole again. But Masson and the White Crow didn't stop there. Masson had other dreams...dreams of a greater power. A world power. But he could not immediately become one. It took six years to change a culture...it would take a long time as well to become a world power. And finally, he could fulfill his allies' dreams of revenge against the world who'd taken advantage of them for so long.

The Belkans were the kindest of the foreign invaders, relatively speaking. They only fought a bloody war against the communist factions in the north as they used the combat experience for the Belkan War in 1995. But that nation was a shadow of their former selves. The Oseans weren't that much better. They stole Verusa's oil for nearly ten years. The Yukes were the worst. But they weren't that much of a concern. They were fighting it out amongst themselves now; Hard-line communists in the West against republic loyalists in the East. Sotoa was neutral power, but a paper tiger in past wars. Only the Oseans stood their way.

It had been a clever way to build a massive army. He'd done it right under the nose of Osea and Yuktobania. And yet he did it to their faces. He bought spare weapons from his enemies. He posed to the world as a peace loving man...while establishing friends overseas. He sent his pilots to different countries to be trained in the military arts...while denouncing war over the airwaves. And while the world was focused on other conflicts, the White Crow simply stood back and smiled. Slowly, they did it. Little by little, day by day. No one had a clue what was going on.

Then things hit a major snag. The liberals that had ruled the two superpowers were ousted or voted out. This was particularly a problem in Osea, where Vincent Harling was defeated for a second term by his political party rival, staunch conservative Mary Spencer Cohen. At first, things did not seem problematic. She spent most of the first year in office trying to repair the "damage" the liberals had done to Osea's military and re-correct the priorities of the country. The Verusans had laughed themselves sick at the liberal's downsizing of the Osean military. But now, they were getting worried. President Cohen wasn't buying the White Crow party's message of peace...and the other nations began to follow. But relief came when the Yukes got themselves involved in their civil war. Now Osea was alone...with a neutered military.

The Yuke hard-liners had backed the White Crow to the hilt, and now the time to repay their help...by humbling Osea and the Republican Yukes. And they could do it. They had the men, the equipment...and they had the tower. Masson was confident. Verusa could fight a defensive battle; they had the terrain and the motivation. The plan was simple, invade South Yuktobania and force the Oseans to fight. They invaded in August, taking the sparsely populated area of Gucca. But the Yukes couldn't respond...as planned. But Cohen was not easily baited. There were no civilian casualties, and in reality, Gucca once belonged to Verusa.

So how to tempt the giant? Surely one must of thought a budding nation fighting a war against a supposed superpower was suicide. But they had the tower. It was something no one had ever seen before. There had been its imitators in the past wars; massive weapons that were nothing more than paper tigers. But they'd learned from the mistakes of the past. This one would not be toppled. But more than simply a symbol it was; it was a weapon whose system was never even expected. No one save a few brilliant scientist even thought of it. It merely applied advanced technology in...an rather ingenious fashion.

The people who built it constructed the tower with the blood and sweat of the rejects of Verusan society: criminals, killers, rapists, etc. The ones who designed it claimed genius and the work all their own. There was the Architect: Gabriella Mordova Zorba. There was the Supplier: Zerran Makin. And finally, there was the Commander: Major General Praeten Gavus Percival. They were the Holy Trinity as far as the White Crow was concerned. Sure, Grand General Morales was in charge of the military, but Zorba, Makin and Percival were the heart and soul. They'd made it possible to challenge the world with a weapon few knew existed.

Now, General Morales was here to inspect the weapon. General Percival was the young savant of the group, and actually the youngest of the entire brass. He'd burned through the ranks in the chaotic years of the White Crow's rise to power. Morales was pushing 60, Zorba pushing 50, and Makin was 40; Percival was 37. With Morales were tons of dignitaries and other officials eager to see the dress rehearsal of this new weapon. The control center was a giant room filled with technicians on several computer screens. A large screen was on back edge of the room. On it was a large map of the world.

"So, now we'll finally see how powerful this thing is." said Morales.

"Just a demonstration Alphonso," said Percival calling the general by his first name, "We can't make any major moves...yet." He called the general by his first name because he was Morales' long time protégé. Both had an equal sense of what needed to be done. They had equal amounts of intelligence and wisdom. The only difference was that while Morales was firm when he needed to be and kind when he needed to be...Percival was an absolutely vicious, cold-blooded person.

"So another random structure?" asked Makin.

"No...This time, I want it in international range. But it can't be against a military target...not yet." said Percival, stroking his chin.

"An isolated island maybe?" said Makin. Makin really didn't want to use the weapon against civilians. But if that's what the commander wanted, who was he to get in his way? The last guy that disagreed with General Percival was found in a ditch with a gaping bullet hole in his head. And that was Percival being nice...

"Sir...look...our satellite has just picked up a cruise liner on the very limit of our range. It's prowling around our waters. They are changing course though." said one of the technicians.

"Can you extend the range?" Percival asked.

"Barely sir...only a few more miles." the technician replied.

"Excellent. It's a perfect choice. By the time they figure out what went wrong...we'll control half the Pacific...if not more." said Zorba.

"Lord Masson wants more. He wants the entire West under our control." said Percival.

"An admirable dream. We've tested it against our land...now against this poor ship." said Zorba with a laugh. Zorba was an equally cruel individual. But her personality came from her scientific background. She regarded most of humanity as expendable; a people of full of idiots and fools who got in the way of her dreams. Her work was the only thing she looked forward to each day. Long before, no one appreciated her work. She was regarded as deluded and crazy. But now she was with people who let her experiment to her heart's content. They almost never got in her way. There was no better way to make this control-freak happier. As far as she was concerned, this weapon was her child. Her child in real life had long gone off to make his own way and distanced himself as far as he possibly could from his mother (and understandably so). But Zorba didn't care. She had her science...and that was more than enough.

"Process initiated. Draining power from all sources. Blackout in 3...2...1. Mark." said the head technician. All around them the facility began to shake somewhat. They didn't see the lights all around the cities in the distance shut off. But they knew exactly what was going to happen. There were smiles all across the faces of the VIPs there.

"Target vector 017, phase line red. Begin target size to intensity ratio analysis, maximum firepower within query." said another technician. A group of lights came on and the full satellite image of the ship came into view.

"Mark, countdown. Firing in sixty seconds...59...58...57..." began the technician.

_**October 1, 2016**_

_**Somewhere in the Pacific Osean **_

_**1900 hrs.**_

Christopher Black was living two lives and after nearly five years of doing so...he was only now getting used to it. The double life though was not what most expected. His face was slightly different. His hair was shorter. He had a beautiful wife and a rather precocious, sunny four year old girl. And yet, those two things were the only two things that mattered...and the only two things about Black that were not lies. Christopher Black was not _Christopher Black_. He was a new man and the double life was as current as his past...his old life. They were hiding from an old life...a life where they were once heroes and legends. They were both angels...and demons.

The demon part was the most poignant of the names...because it was true to those who encountered them. Black was seeing two worlds through his eyes. He was seeing his future; he was seeing happiness, a new home, more kids, a better job. But he was seeing his past: a past where he was not Christopher Black...he was David Lovecraft. He was the son of a pilot during the Belkan War. Like most sons of heroes, he grew worshiping his father. So it came to pass that he wanted to do the same. And sure enough, he went for broke and became one of the best pilots to walk the earth. And he wasn't alone. He was instructed by veterans of that horrid past war. And with Lovecraft were three others. They were the three who became the basis for the legend. Then one more came along and the legend was complete. The "Four Wings of Sand Island" was the first name. Then...it was the Demon of Razgriz. They made their name in a war that didn't need to be. It was against an enemy from the past who sought vengeance. And their vengeance led to their deaths...or so it was thought. They returned, thought dead to the world...and saved it. Their named lived on, but the pilots returned to a life of the normal. It was basic jobs and occasional recreational flying. But no more war. And they fought to keep it that way. They hoped the world would see the folly of war.

The problem was that the world wouldn't agree with their views. War raged anyway because of human nature. The human race controlled their fate. And the four pilots constantly hoped and prayed that the Razgriz would never have to be called on again. They had been hidden by the people and the rulers they'd saved. They were dead to the world. So David Lovecraft became Christopher Black, and only the government knew the truth.

Lovecraft was in the middle of the pacific because he needed to get away...as do most of the overworked. Lovecraft fixed airplanes rather than fly them. It was a perfect segway into a peaceful life. The person he flew with, a woman of unfading loyalty and love gladly came into this new life with him. They were each other opposing wing; without one the other couldn't live. That was Anna Black...or a woman once called Kei Nagase. Both said to the other that they fell in love with each other the minute they started flying together. After the war they were inseparable. Of course, they had marry in secret...but neither cared. It was the act that counted (not to mention it was better due to the lack of the usual hassles with planning a wedding). And now, they had a beautiful child Catherine, named after David's mother. He'd been with her for five years, but by now he knew her like an open book. He could literally sense her presence. He could do it because she had a aura about her, an aura of grace mixed with a toughness that didn't even take away from her femininity. Now, night was approaching and after a day of playing around a cruise ship...Catherine was absolutely wiped and was sleeping much earlier than that little ball of energy normally would.

"She's asleep now." Kei said walking up behind them.

"Call me crazy...but I was actually thinking about just jumping into the water." David said. Nagase gave him a bizarre look, and then she just laughed. Ninety five percent of the time, David was a fine guy. But the remaining five percent was just strange random thoughts of his...almost all of which were just hysterical. It went back to the days they were in Wardog. The funny thing was that despite not being in the air force any longer, she heard all kinds of rumors from friends about another squadron with their old name "Wardog"; she heard through the grapevine that it was the 373rd Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Oured that had taken the name.

But when they were a part of Wardog, David's odd humor always got them through the day. But Kei looked back on those old days with mixed feelings. She'd always hated war. Kei had so much taken by the horrific art of war, if one could call it art. She hated to see happen over and over and over in a vicious cycle.

She hoped that terrible war five years ago would serve as a harsh lesson, but human nature prevented that. War was impossible to completely prevent. So Kei hoped that she never had to live through another one. She hoped her daughter would never have to live through a war. But even she knew that was a pipe dream given the chaotic world they lived in. But at least here on some cruise ship...there was a sense of peace and timelessness. They could forget about everything important and just be a family.

"You're insane." she said.

"It was just a crazy thought. I'm not doing any deep introspective thinking on a vacation now." David said.

"I know! You never change!" she said with a smile.

"Do you want me to? I mean, I'll stop..." David said, stretching out his hands in some odd gesture.

"No...Are you kidding me? We need our daily comedy routine!" said Kei. After all, no one found David more hilarious than their own kid.

David shook his head and laughed. "Fine, I'll jump right into this freezing water right now if you want. I'll even go naked if that suits you."

"You can…as long as I get to come with you." Nagase said, coy as ever.

As they moved to kiss each other, there were no worries at all. Their lips locked as they had a million times before. And it always got better. Kei had a taste to her; it was like a fruit that kept sticking in one's tongue. It should have been a wonderful moment...but when something bizarre prepares to occur, it usually produces thing that are several levels of weird. That weird incident was twofold. First was some strange ozone like smell in the air. The next was a strange buzzing sound that increased in loudness.

"What the hell is that noise?!" said Kei, holding her ears trying to dampen out that horrible sound. David looked up and saw something hovering towards the back of the ship. He raised an eyebrow.

"The sky...why is it so...What in the hell is that?!" David said. As David said that, a technician in a remote Versuan facility was counting down to the inevitable.

_3...2...1. Boom._

What happened next was impossible to fathom. Neither saw the result, but they both felt it. Both were thrown dozens of feet into the ocean from the sheer vibration of what occurred. The entire stern of the ship exploded and debris went everywhere. The ship rocked and was torn asunder by the sheer impact. A group of Verusan brass was looking at the satellite images with glee.

_Hit the bow straight on. _

_Yes sir. Making target acquisition...correcting...Secondary firing in 30. Mark. 30...29...28... _

Kei struggled to keep their heads above the water. She could tell David was still alive because he was breathing, but he was unresponsive. She looked frantically around and actually ignored the pain in her legs. She could see the back end of the ship in flames and most distressing of all...it was listing to port. She wasn't worried about David. In fact, she'd done this before in the Ceres Osean after they left Sand Island to go to their..."deaths". Only that time, it was David keeping her afloat. Now it was the other way around. But then, they found themselves calling to everyone to see if they made it. They spent an hour in that sea. But now, Kei was vainly calling out to a different person...her daughter.

"Catherine!" she screamed. They kept floating and Kei kept screaming. There was nothing more horrible for a mother than not knowing where her child was when crisis struck; especially if the crisis was not of her making. And this was a crisis...even more than a crisis. This was a complete calamity.

_5...4...3...2...1...kaboom._

Kei saw the sky again. It turned violently red again and whatever the hell happened was going to happen again. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips against the ones of her disoriented lover. She was going to breath for both of them as she took him beneath the waves and then there was nothing but a violent crash and vibration in the sea. It nearly sucked them under. David had recovered and saw the flashes. They fought for the surface and were soon being pulled away from the ship.

"What's going on?!" David said disoriented. He was totally unaware as to what was going on. He rapidly looked around and found himself in the sea!

"What the hell was that?!" David shouted.

"Where's Catherine...I can't...where is she?!" Kei said worried and breathless. She was almost hyperventilating at this point.

Soon, the entire ship was ablaze and going down quickly. There was yet another explosion. As the flames began to die down as well as the ship...both made a horrifying realization. Whatever had caused this had killed the majority of the passengers...and no doubt their child among them. At that point, both of them never felt so alone. An intense sadness came over them. They felt alone and sad because for all intents and purposes...they were alone. They huddled to each other to keep themselves afloat and warm. Although, they were thankful that it was summer time in the southern hemisphere. As night began to form...a cold, emptiness filled their hearts. They knew the obvious truth now. The only question was...what caused it? Their faces were filled with tears and anger. But in a remote facility in Verusa...there was nothing but cheers, champagne and celebration. It was perfect. Their weapon had passed all the tests. Now their weapons were complete and there would be no stopping them now. They paid no attention or cared about who was actually on that boat. It was going to be a fatal mistake.

Next: Chapter 2: The Man from Section Seven


	2. The Man from Section Seven

Chapter 2: The Man from Section Seven

"_...I am always amazed at our race's ability to easily exchange morals and ethics for results or truth." - Lucien Jackson_

_**October 4, 2016**_

_**Bright Hill**_

_**Oured, Osesa**_

_**0800 hrs.**_

Lucien Jackson had been going non-stop for the past few days. It wasn't anything new to him; but these last few days had been every kind of nightmare. There was that PR disaster during the 6th Circum Summit; a rather heated outburst from one of the top Verusan government officials, Edgar Carean, during that meeting. Then his daughter broke her leg in that bicycle accident, the Verusan incursion into the Yuke Neutral Zone, his top intelligence source in Verusa went missing...

And to top it all off, there was this cruise liner disaster. Now normally, such an incident, while tragic, wouldn't require a report to the President of Osea, but in this case it did for several reasons; especially considering the circumstances behind the attack. No one could put a finger on it, but Jackson had some ideas.

Mary Cohen may have been the President and Commander in Chief, but Lucien Jackson had the most important job in Osea. He was the head of the enigmatic Section Seven: an independent ruling arm of the CIA, FBI, DEA, ATF, etc. For all intents and purposes, Lucien Jackson controlled the fate of Osea's national security. Jackson was the only person who took independently orders directly from the President herself. The reason that she picked Jackson was that he was a smart, forward thinking man who was interested in the big picture. Not to mention that he had a way with people. He understood people very well and was very good as exposing their flaws.

After Harling was ousted and the results of the war had been analyzed, Cohen secretly disbanded the entire government protection umbrella's leadership. They could no longer be trusted...for obvious reasons. She instead put younger, more forward thinking and equally conservative members into leadership positions and as far as anyone could tell, they were performing exceptionally. For people in such important positions, they were quite young. Cohen was an even forty years old; Jackson was thirty-eight. Cohen's campaign was made fun of by liberals since they believed it based on Cohen's charismatic personality and pretty face instead of policy and campaign promises. And in some method they were right. But Cohen believed young people would connect with her...and she was right. But despite the rabbit ears that she had, Cohen laughed of her critics off with a sardonic wit.

Though Cohen's purging of the government was taken with extreme criticism. Jackson's hiring was suspicious to many, as Jackson and Cohen were old Air Force buddies and only he was interviewed for the job. But as far as anyone else was concerned Lucien Jackson was _the_ go-to guy in crisis. And speaking of crisis, Jackson had a mysterious sixth sense about crisis. He could just sense when things were going to go wrong. And ninety percent of the time...he was right.

Several government officials (Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Defense, etc) were leaving the Oval Office just as Jackson entered. No one knew it at the time, but Jackson was more powerful than all the men in that room, or the Senate for that matter. It had to be...someone had to protect the government from themselves. Despite the fact they'd been friends, Cohen and Jackson were too completely different individuals. The only things that were similar were their raven-colored hair. Jackson was a towering 6'6" black man, where Cohen was only a mere 5'5". Where Cohen could be rather gregarious for a governmental figure, Jackson was all-business. Though in these troubled times, there could no lightening up.

Well, except what the President said once Jackson had taken his seat. The President was watching the news unfold...and was just tired of hearing the same old stuff. While it was tragic, she wanted something, anything to smile about.

_Officials are still trying to determine what caused the sudden explosion aboard the luxury liner O.S. Venus, but the information coming from the scene is limited at best. Naval personnel have rescued at least fourteen people some of whom were critically injured, but it seems that those few lucky people are all they will find. It appears the death toll is now up to 867 confirmed fatalities. It is possible that many victims in the water may have succumbed to exposure, drowning or attacks by sea life..._

Cohen angrily turned off the television.

"Would you look at this shit? I can't get one bit of good news. They should put the good news on first, then the bad. Maybe I'll pass that bill through the Senate, see how they like that." she said. It was a typical Cohen to say such a thing; anything to get a chuckle.

"Well, most of them support you anyway. It could work." Jackson said, succumbing to the dry humor. Cohen turned in her chair to Lucien and folded her hands in front of her. Jackson stiffened his posture.

"So...I understand you have a progress report." she asked him.

"I've done some digging around and information is very limited. The satellite we had monitoring the area was knocked out at the moment the ship exploded. It did pick up something unusual. There was an absurdly high concentration of electromagnetic energy at the point of the explosion. But the funny thing was that it was concentrated in such a narrow area. That is very strange for EMPs. Jamming aircraft don't have a signature that small. For all intents and purposes it essentially made everything in the width of the ship invisible to radar." said Jackson.

"The media is reporting it as an equipment malfunction. Some believe it may have been some kind of advanced dirty bomb." said the President.

"Not possible. Otherwise the entire area would be radiated. But it couldn't have been a regular bomb...not with the damage to the stern it caused." Jackson said, handing his Commander-in-Chief a report of the damages.

"So what do you think it was?" Cohen asked looking at the reports.

"I don't know. Some kind of device that can concentrate electromagnetic energy into some kind of destructive force." said Jackson. Lucien shook his head a bit. He knew he was reaching. He didn't have any concrete evidence at the moment.

"Have you interrogated the survivors?" asked the President, still looking at the report.

"Some of them; the others are in critical condition. I only talked to three people. But..."

"What?"

Lucien shook his head. "You're not going to believe who was on that ship. There were a group of our guys, even people from Capital Air Command on vacation among the dead."

"My god..." Cohen said

"I asked the survivors about the incident. Most of them didn't know what hit them. But one man...it's strange. You know what he told me? He said that he thought it was a lightning bolt that did the job." said Jackson.

"What? That's impossible! I grew up in the Kansas district...lighting capital of the world and nowhere has lighting been able to do _that_ kind of damage!" Cohen said incredulously, looking at a digital make up of the damages.

"Of course not, considering where it struck. It hit the top, but the funny thing was it cut through several layers of hull and steel to the turbines and...Boom. But it's not outside the realm of possibility. Remember the Excalibur? Stonehenge? Scxinfaxi? I'm not willing to concede that's impossible." began Jackson, "And it gets better. You-know-who...was on that ship. Two of the four."

Jackson handed her a folder marked "Project Razgriz." Cohen looked at the report and saw two familiar faces in the dossier.

"Project Razgriz. The ones that got hitched a few years ago, they were on that ship." Lucien sid.

"What the hell? You mean...they're still alive?! How did...of all the places they could have been. Talk about wrong place, wrong time." Cohen said.

"Lucky. They were picked up yesterday by a Sea Hawk from the Kestrel II…They were in real bad shape. They were lucky they didn't get eaten by the sharks. They were clinging to a piece of exposed dead coral with extreme dehydration and a close call with rather poisonous jellyfish." Lucien added.

"Where are they now?" asked Cohen.

"I had them sedated and transferred the OFS Neptune under heavy guard. I didn't want anyone making any waves...no pun intended. That ship should be at St. Hewlett Naval Base by tonight." said Jackson.

Cohen shook her head. She remembered being in Oured when that satellite went down. Her kids said it was like a fireworks show. And yet none of them realized how close they were to dying. Back then, Cohen was only a Kansas District Senator. Now she was ruling the free world. She owed some thanks to those...Razgriz. Everyone did. "Project Razgriz" was the extensive cover up by Jackson's predecessors.

"As for reports from the Neutral Zone?" she said, trying to change the subject.

"Same thing...nothing. They're in their trenches; the Yukes are in theirs."

"But you think there's going to be trouble?"

"No doubt, especially when you consider the profile of the leadership. Masson's talk of peace is a bunch of crap, but we already know that. It's the rest of Osea and the world that's falling for it. Especially the liberals."

"Should we re-activate them? I mean...the project covers a possible return and re-orientation within a seven year gap." Cohen said.

"Not right now. I mean, they lost their kid for crying out loud." Jackson said.

"Did you find the..."

"We did...we got the corpse frozen up for now. Again, security concerns." Jackson interrupted.

"Everyone's saying the Verusans aren't going to back down. The Yukes have been hounding me for military action. But I'm not moving until I have concrete evidence of any aggression." Cohen said, getting out of her chair and facing the window.

"I'll get right on it. But there are reports that Sotoa is considering action." said Jackson.

"Ugh...Sotoans. They're so flaky. What a paper tiger that nation is! They folded like a lawn chair against Yuktobania in the eighties, they stood by and let Belka all but rape Versua in the early nineties, and they declare neutrality where their satellite nation in Usea gets overrun by the 

Eruseans, then jumped in when ISAF started winning. Forget it; I do not trust them to do anything significant. They're not committed." said Cohen angrily.

Suddenly, the door opened and a man walked into the Oval Office. He was wearing a suit that was kind of haggard. He looked like he'd been a busy guy. He was a Caucasian man of medium height and build with blonde, almost wavy hair. He had a briefcase with him.

"Ah...there you are." Jackson said shaking his head.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Jackson. I had a red eye flight back from Ocktabursk. Had to rush in." said the man.

"No problem...and please call me Lucien. We're the same rank now you know."

"Oh sorry Mr...I mean, Lucien." said the man.

"Who is this?" Cohen said, having never met this individual.

"This is my new intelligence liaison to the Western Coalition. Madam President, George Mason Clarke of Section Seven, and vice versa." Lucien said.

"Pleasure to meet you." said the man shaking the president's hand.

"What do you have for me?" asked Lucien.

"Tax records." said Clarke.

"Tax records? What the hell are we are going with this!?" Cohen said angrily. She was expecting results...not things about money.

"Various businesses in Verusa. This file," Clarke started pulling out a piece of paper, "I went back to invoices from the old Varax weapons plant in south Verusa before it shut down in 2010. There were a lot of purchases from Grunder Inc, before it folded. The funny thing was all the doctors they employed, some of whom were from Grunder."

Cohen groaned. She'd rather not bring up that political mess with Grunder. She looked at the list of personnel employed at Varax. Many of them had complicated names that told of their profession without having be informed.

"Why would a weapons plant need all these doctors?" Cohen asked.

"Those are from another company. Long story short, there were a lot of unemployed weapons and ballistics people after the war in 2010. Most of these doctors were experts in the field of optics, physics, ballistics, metallurgy and electricity." Clarke replied.

"And Verusa snagged them up...how convenient. We knew they were building their arms, but we thought it was mostly from Yuktobania...not us." said Jackson.

"I ran most of the names through the computers and most of them were deleted. No doubt thanks to the faction." said Clarke. The "faction" referred to the people who'd taken over the government in the president's absence in 2010. The time-period matched perfectly.

"You think these events are linked?" asked Cohen.

"They've got to be. It explains the funding from the hard-liners and the deleted records." said Jackson.

"It's not much though. These purchases are insignificant. Just ammunition and spare parts." Cohen. "Could it be linked your initial report about them building some kind of self-defense system based on the old Stonehenge in Usea?"

"We thought it was only a rumor. We know now that they're building some a self-defense system. Doctors with degrees in optics, physics, metallurgy, ballistics and electricity...you make the connection." said Clarke.

"We're focusing our investigation on this self-defense system. But my agent has been missing for days and I'm getting worried. My other liaison in Yuktobania has heard nothing from him either." said Jackson.

"I'm making that an executive order. I want to know everything about it; everyone who's is in charge, what it's made of. I want to know everything." Cohen said. Lucien nodded his head.

"As for the Neutral Zone?" Clarke asked.

"If the Versuans cross the magic line into Yuktobania...it's on. They're basically asking for a fight then. I'll have the First Marine Division and the 79th Airborne Division on standby." said Cohen. The magic line being the edge between the Yuke and Versuan controlled territory in the mainland. We've got another summit coming up, so I'll be waiting for your report.

"And Project Razgriz?"

"If you can make it happen, do it. But...chances are that's not going to happen, especially the kind of people we're dealing with." said the president.

"Oh...I think I can get them back. Their old squadron already was reformed under a different unit...I have plans for them as well. They serve directly under our pavilion...and they don't even realize it...yet." said Jackson.

"Are you sure? I mean...you're going to come off a total tool if you do." Cohen said, almost with a smirk on her face.

"Trust me. I know how people think. I'll get my department on the spy work. Maybe we'll get some answers." said Jackson.

Jackson then nodded to Clarke and the President and walked away. Jackson was confident. He knew people very well, and he knew what to attack in one's personality. He would play all of them like a fiddle.

_**St. Aesa Hospital**_

_**October 5, 2016**_

_**November City, Osea**_

_**1000 hrs**_

Apart from being on the doomed cruise liner in the middle of the Pacific, Cormorance Alou had the worst luck of any pilot in the world. He was going on a cruise with friends from another squadron. Cormorance hadn't been a boat since he left his home country, and for good reason. It opened a bunch of old wounds. "Come on, it'll be fun!" said one guy. So Alou agreed and now they were all drowned, dead and gone...and he was alive to tell the sordid tale.

Every time he'd get to a squadron he'd be transferred out within a year. Seven years in the air force and five different squadrons. First it was Sand Island, then it was Heirlark, the McNealy, then Bright Island, now it was the newly established Raven Lake. The funny thing was, after all this time he'd been moving up. At Sand Island, he was just a scrub in an auxiliary squadron. By the time he got to Bright Island, he was leading a flight and was the S-2(intelligence) of the proud 353rd TFS. But now he was at Raven's Lake...and in another auxiliary squadron! He'd paid his dues, endured multiple cross country trips with a wife and two kids, the war six years ago, seen friends die, transferred away or retire early due to the wide-scale arms reduction from 2011 to 2014, now he was here and only to start at the bottom again. His rank meant nothing now. There were personnel officers already in place, and there were only ten planes in the squadron!

It was actually a severely watered-down 373rd TFS whose elements had been sent to other places. The reason: very few combat hardened pilots were left in the Osean Air Force. At least he was still was a flight lead. Alou brought much needed combat experience. The pilots he was with were mostly experienced, skilled pilots. But when it came to combat training, they weren't that equipped. Alou was a seven victory ace from the Circum-Pacific War at the young age of twenty one after being pulled out of reserve early to shore up a weakened air force near the end of the last war. He'd downed five planes in thirteen days, and two in one day in Northern Yuktobania, a collective body of work which got him a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Cormorance was a hard worker and took his job very seriously. He wasn't going to screw this up, especially considering where he came from. Cormorance grew up in the war torn streets of Disra, Versua. He and his mother fled in 1998. His father had been killed in the city during fighting between fascist and communist parties. But on the way, Cormorance's mother died of heat exhaustion. He eventually found his way to humanitarian aid camp and was brought back to Osea. He had nothing but the clothes on his back. Now, he was someone important and repaying the nation that had been so kind to him. But in reality, it was ironic he was in the Air Force of all branches, considering that it was planes that killed his father. But then again, his father wasn't the nicest of men; he treated Alou's mother like a slave. He hated Verusa and all it stood for.

The one thing Cormorance loved about Osea as a child was how everyone was so different and being different was encouraged. Being different in Verusa usually got one killed. And the group he was with...they were more different. They were unique...and not all in good ways. First there was Michael Sachsenronde, a Belkan pilot who went by the moniker of "Icarus". Sachsenronde bounced from one squadron to the next; but unlike Alou, Michael had a superiority complex (and that was being kind) typical of most hotshot pilots. In other words, Michael could be a cancer in the ready room; also his work ethic was questionable. But when faced with quick dishonorable discharge by the top guys in the Wing, he chose for one last chance to redeem himself...fitting he was sent to this group of rejects. Then there Andrew "Jacks" Fisch, a maverick, but a respected one because his work ethic was incredible. Sure he was a degenerate gambler and a few drinks away from being an alcoholic; but he was still a gamer when it mattered.

Then there was "Harpy" and "Spider", the wingman duo of Polly Elbe and Lillian Izzo. Polly was the loud, boisterous ball of energy in the squadron. She was a direct person and never wanted to beat around the bush. Lillian was actually had the most raw talent of anyone in the unit outside Paulo Scirro and Cormorance. She was the youngest pilot in the wing at 24, but she was just damn good. The problem was that she was just...weird. She was a strange character. She kept pet spiders and rats and would on occasion, talk in the third person. She got her call sign from a backfired prank at the Air Force Academy when she woke up covered in fake spiders. She was upset because the spiders were _fake_, not the surprise they were there. She even wanted to write a book about them as misunderstood and necessary creatures.

Paulo Scirro was the old man at thirty and a veteran of two wars. He was the emotional, leadership presence inside the unit. But there was one major difference between Cormorance and Paulo. It had nothing to do with leadership qualities; Both men were from Verusa but saw it two different ways. Cormorance hated his homeland of Versua. It was a Hell on the surface of the world and it was filled by greedy, murderous sheep that followed whatever came their way. His wife was of the same mind. She'd been victimized by that place just as well, and both wanted nothing to do with that hellish country. But Paulo saw his countrymen as victims of decades of corruption. They both were actually right.

But being of that opinion, Cormorance wasn't buying this reborn Versua. He had plenty of time to watch the news, being in a hospital and all. But, perhaps he wasn't so unlucky. After all, his wife Potenza had survived without a scratch on her. The kids were with the wife, now widow, of one of his friends. And the relatively unique new squadron members had all come to visit him at St. Aesa. He'd probably be less than lucky if something major was to happen and he'd have to go back to Versua. He'd spent his whole life distancing himself from that place...and now, things were not looking good.

_**October 24, 2016**_

_**St. Helene, Dakota District**_

_**Osea**_

_**0800 hrs.**_

Lucien Jackson and his men from the Secret Service (now a subsidiary of Section Seven) had to drive several hours to find this place. He hated Dakota District because it was so scarcely populated in the country. At least in Kansas it was easy to get around. But Dakota was filled with hills and valleys. It was a beautiful place to live, but pain to visit. Lucien knew why moved here: if you wanted to get away from civilization, Dakota was it. There had been no news in the last two weeks; no major incidents. And no news was good and bad news for Section Seven. Until now. Now something was up. They'd done their investigation and what little they found scared the living daylights out of them. It was all the more reason to want the Razgriz back in action. They weren't _that_ rusty. Lucien knew they did a lot recreational flying. No doubt they tried to live out the old days in the clouds.

But the visits to the others had not gone well. Lucien didn't expect his meeting with this married couple to go well. After all, they just buried their four year old kid nearly two weeks prior.

"So, they're moving up troops to the border?" Clarke said over a satellite phone.

"We may get the big one this time." said one of the Secret Service guys. After Clarke hung up the phone, he looked at Lucien.

"Look, when we get inside, let me do that talking. I mean, we're dealing with people in mourning here." Clarke said. He was right. Clarke was good with people. But Lucien was better.

"Look, just watch me work." Lucien said. Lucien left behind his secret service attendants and walked up the door. The cabin-like house was a quaint one, but it seemed perfect. Lucien's wife would have loved to live here...if she wasn't such a high maintenance person.

"Who are you?" a woman said. She looked different than the photo. Her hair was much longer and golden blonde. But Lucien knew this was Kei Nagase and not Lilly Black, the alias she'd been living under. Her look was a mixed visage of confusion and depression.

"My apologies for dropping by unannounced, though I expect you're used to strange people showing up at your door. I'm with the government and we're still investigating what happened..." said Lucien.

"So I guess you're here about...what happened two weeks ago." said Nagase, cutting him off.

"Yes. But...that's not the only reason. May I come in?" said Jackson.

"Umm...sure." said Nagase hesitantly. She opened the door and Lucien and Clarke entered the living room. Despite the cordiality, Lucien noticed that Nagase's look had changed to one of withheld hostility.

The house inside was quiet as a church mouse. There wasn't much flash inside. It was just a normal boring house. Both of them seemed to take pride in such a frugal existence. Perhaps it was Lovecraft's will, as his psychological profile indicated that he was a sentimental, not a materialistic, person. Lovecraft was pushing thirty, but looked as old as President Cohen's teenage son. He almost reminded him of that Hans Grimm who hadn't changed much in looks over six years. Nagase looked less pale than she did years ago. She was dressed in a white, long sleeve blouse long brown dress but was completely barefoot, her toes painted a coral color. Her husband was wearing black pants and a bluish shirt. Fashion did not seem to be their forte, Jackson thought. However, the house was spotless which told Jackson that despite their unexpected visitor, neither one of the former pilots were slouches when it came to cleaning house. It was always kept in pristine order.

"My name Lucien Jackson and this is my assistant, George Mason Clarke." Jackson then turned to Kei, This is a really lovely house. You definitely know how to use the space."

However, as the two agents sat down in the living room, it was clear that Lovecraft was not interested in the compliments.

"So, what group are you with? CIA, FBI, what? And by the way, I don't need you tell me we have a nice house. We live here, we know how it looks." said Lovecraft, his hostility an elephant in the room. Nagase shot her husband a hostile look of her own, but Lovecraft merely shook his head.

"Testy, aren't we? As for your original question, we are the group. We represent the government as a whole. I do things the Madam President cannot do. If none of this had happened, you'd never know who I was. Now, I want you to tell me what you think happened out there; an Accident…a terrorist attack…?" asked Jackson.

"It was accident. Something exploded...or not, I don't know. I don't want to..." Nagase said, trying to dismiss the entire thing. But Jackson knew what she was trying to say.

"Open a fresh wound?" he replied. Nagase froze. David gave him a strange, but angry look.

"I understand times are difficult for you both, but...I came here, not only for information and your side of the story. I came to make a request. And before I make it, I know exactly what you're going to say. But just to humor me, I'll ask it anyway. Maybe I'll be surprised." said Jackson.

Jackson turned to Clarke for a minute, and out of the corner of his eye he saw David look at Nagase and shake his head. Lucien knew what it was going to be.

"I want you both to come and work for me. I spoke to your comrade yesterday and they turned me down, I as expected would be the case."

"...work for you? What...what would that entail?" asked David. He was playing dumb, Jackson thought. He knew what he meant. Lovecraft wasn't stupid. 1300 SAT score.

"I'm not saying coming back to the military...officially. I mean, working for me." said Jackson.

"And _who_ do you work for? Can you at least give me, in one complete sentence, what it is that you do?" Nagase asked. Not surprising from Lucien's standpoint. Nagase was far too left-wing not to ask. She had a habit for being rather... skeptical.

"I am a part of a government arm few know about. I am from Section Seven, a secret military arm that effectively polices the government and National Security. Whether you know it or not, your existence in the last war was covered up by our group. We covered up all details regarding the SOLG, your squadron, etc. We were the ones who gave your identities, not the President's aides as you may think." said

"Is this...something new?" Nagase said sardonically.

"Oh we've been around since the seventies. It's just until now that the select few people know about it." Lucien replied.

"And you want us to come back? Are you insane? We spent those months fighting a war that no one wanted to fight and we went through all that trouble...just to have you show up and ask us to come back?! I mean, we just buried..."

"I know. I am aware. But believe me, I wouldn't lack this much tact if there wasn't a need for your services. I've got kids too. I understand. But whether or not you realize it not, there is another war brewing in Verusa. Just no one realizes it yet. Except us." said Jackson.

"I understand what's going on. But they're talking peace...so that's good enough right? No one's doing anything. And besides even if there was a war on the horizon...what makes you think we're going to go back now!?" David said, being the firebrand. Lucien shook his head and actually let out a chuckle. _You naive little man..._

"Interesting you should say that. The main thing is this. Versua's never been about peace. It's been tearing itself apart for six decades. It's a powder keg, an insane hodgepodge of cultures. And this Masson, thinks he can change that culture. Masson's never been about changing culture. Let me tell you a secret about William Masson. That guy is a war criminal from the Belkan War. Now the history books say he was acquitted, which a load of crap because they had the evidence and they had phony mistrial..." Lucien stopped, realizing he was rambling on, "...what I'm saying is…this country's a war waiting to happen."

"Be that is it may... why us? Isn't there an entire army that should be concerned with that?" Nagase said.

"A largely inexperienced, neutered army brought on by four years of arms reduction by the man you supported."

"So it's personal because we voted for Harling?" Nagase said with a stinging voice. But Lucien wasn't intimidated.

"Look, let's not get into politics. I can't afford to be on one side. I'm leftist and rightist. My job is to prevent wars. And we've got one on our hands. You've been there...and a select few as well. But we're dealing with has a standing army of four million men in Verusa. Ours? Less than 500,000. Now, sure there's all this political jarring back and forth...but it means nothing. Verusa's government is no better than Belka's at the end of the war before the last; nothing but criminals and thugs in its house."

"Stop a war? I guess you didn't do a good job." David said with a smirk.

"But why us? You didn't answer my question." Nagase added. Lucien sat up a bit in his chair.

"Two things. Number one," said Lucien looking at David, "I know what you are like. I understand you. I was once a pilot just like you. After the Belkan War, I too was jaded and angry. But, I realized something. In those tense moments, you felt alive didn't you?"

"You don't know anything about me." David said angrily. Lucien was happy he was angry. The seeds had been planted. He knew opening a wound or two would make David go on the defensive. Lucien was right, but David wouldn't admit it...yet. Now it was time to hit him where it hurt.

"Oh, I don't? Let me take a guess. You're been spending the last five years sitting down thinking about what things could have been. You could have added to the legend. But...I bet, it had something to do with her. She couldn't accept this world anymore, and just like you...she felt alive in the moment. But when it was all said and done, you believed that it was time to leave the life. And you accomplished something rather impressive. You found the Osean Dream: a home, family, good jobs. But, you sat there at night...thinking that when you were in the squadron...you'd already achieved it."

"Bullshit." David said. Nagase turned, not expecting him to say that. David almost never cursed. Lucien knew it too. He almost had him...

"Oh really? You don't have to lie to me. I've been there. I was in the AROTC when I was majoring in Psychology at Berkeley..."

"So what, are you trying to expose our psychological faults in order to deceive us into believe that what your saying is the truth as opposed to what we really feel? That's it isn't? You're not the only one who understands psychoanalysis." said Nagase. Lucien smiled. That was true. She knew what it was going on, but Nagase didn't even realize it was_ already _happening to them. Lucien had done his part.

"Well, you caught me there. Look, I know you may be thinking I'm wasting my time with you, so I won't prod anymore."

"Thank you. Now if you'll please just leave us alone." said David, as if to say, _get the hell out of my house and don't let the door hit you on the way out too._ But Lucien had yet to deliver the deal breaker. It was the perfect time.

"Though, if I may leave with one last comment; one lasting memory in your head." Lucien said preparing to leave.

"What?" the couple said in unison. It wasn't as much of a question as it was one of a reaction of shock, as if they were saying, _What part of 'get the hell out' did you not understand?_ There was a long pause from Lucien.

"What if I told you that your daughter and 1,100 others were not killed in a freak accident aboard a cruise ship? What if I told you that your misfortune, your tragedy was the result of this so called modernizing Verusa testing a so-called _self-defense_ weapon?"

"I'd say you're insane." Nagase said angrily.

"Insane? Fine, believe it if you want or not. You can continue believing it was an accident, or the media rumors of a terrorist attack. Or I can give you the truth. What do you want? I'll give you some time to decide on what you wish to believe. Then I'll return and you can give me your answer then." Lucien said. Both of them looked at each other, and then turned with scowling looks on their faces.

"You can have our answer right now." David said. Lucien almost laughed.

"Really? So soon? Take your emotion out of it, Mr. Lovecraft. Think about it."

And with that Lucien and Clarke began to walk out the house and closed the door behind him. As they left, Lucien then went back to listen with ear against the door. Lucien was smiling.

_The nerve of that man!_

_What the hell does he want with us?_

_No, what I meant to say that he was so rude. He didn't even say goodbye. Just shows up announced, we're trying to deal with Catherine's death and he comes asking us to fight a war for him? Who is this guy?! It was just so classless._

_More than classless; that was...almost bush league._

_We should have told him just to get the hell out. If he comes back, I'm going to punch him in the face._

_Like you did with Hamilton back at Sand Island?_

_No, harder. Some teeth may come loose. That's how mad I am at him._

_But, okay...I...what if he was right? I mean, he wouldn't lie to us?_

_Maybe? Look, look who we're dealing with. These people in our government now are nothing more than rich, war-hungry people who want to throw us into every conflict imaginable._

Lucien smiled and walked away from the door with the others.

"Why did you tell them about us? We should have been vague." Clarke said.

"Oh, it doesn't matter." Lucien said.

"They're not going to accept. Let's just give it up. We don't need them." Clarke said.

"Oh, we don't? If what this report says is true, we're going to need the services of people who've dealt with these kinds of weapons before." said Lucien looking at a folder he took out of his briefcase.

"But, we got nothing, man. They won't agree. Let's just move on." said Clarke, defeated.

But Lucien knew better. Now there was uncertainty in their minds. He'd laid the seeds and he was going to let it fester for as long as possible.

"Nagase and Lovecraft agreed; they want the truth...they just don't know it yet." said Lucien.

Next: Chapter 3: Renegades and Royalty


	3. Renegades and Royalty

Author's Note: There is one character that is referenced in another fanfic of mine. That conversation kinda gives away the plot of the story, but if your interested in reading it, here is the chapter where she introduced: **The Confessions of a Belkan Ace, Chapter 15**

_Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waiver." - Sophocles_

_**October 28, 2016**_

_**St. Helene, Dakota District**_

_**Osea**_

_**1700 hrs.**_

Kei Nagase sat at a booth in a local coffee chain. Nagase was actually a coffee addict. But she did not come here to imbibe cappuccino. She was waiting for someone. Nagase was never concerned with the fact that once they were in the water after surviving that explosion at sea, they floated for a great length of time, almost getting attacked by sharks and toxic jellyfish. She was never concerned with the fact they both woke up a few days later on an aircraft carrier. She only thought about her beautiful child. Instead of looking at her smiling face that had her father's ruddy looks and her mother's glassy eyes, she could only see them as a pale lifeless shell of what was a beautiful life. Their home felt empty and cold.

Kei had been living every mother's worst nightmare. Kei and David were both orphans once, children without parents. But what term was there for parents without kids? There was none...because it wasn't supposed to happen. All of this pain due to a freak accident. Or was it?

For days, it was sadness that drove her. She hadn't felt this way since Chopper died all those years ago. And that was only a shell of the emotion she felt now. After Chopper had died, she was filled with anger. But now, her beautiful daughter was gone and now she was filled with rage. The anger had passed with Chopper because of the circumstances. He died in a war that was no one's fault but a group of vengeful characters from a dead period of time. A vengeance that was not even justifiable considering their own self-inflicted misery that would naturally come by dropping seven nuclear bombs on one's own country. Kei had let that go. It was over and done with. She knew how Chopper died, and more importantly, _why_ it happened.

Kei had no idea why Catherine died. No one had any answers for it...except that Lucien Jackson person. Jackson was completely out of line with his request. The truth in exchange for coming back to a life that had been tainted by betrayal at the very core of the government. Or was he even telling the truth himself? What if he didn't have any answers? What if was making all of it up? That didn't seem possible. Jackson wasn't a crazy person. But he was a stanch conservative and the last time conservatives got involved in anything political in war, people died. David though was of a different mind set. He was a moderate. He forged his own opinion about what he believed. He took ideas from leftists and rightists. Kei always respected that.

She never forgot how he changed over the course of the war. At first, he was for it. Fire and brimstone. "Yuktobania sucker punching us!? The hell with that!" he said after the attack at St. Hewlett. But he quickly begin to realize that all was not right with the war. It started with the Dresdene incident. Then there was Chopper's death that did it. He'd swung firmly into the anti-war camp. But the funny thing was: Blaze was not an anti-war person as much as most people thought. In reality, he accepted war was a fact of societal life. His objection was that Jackson hadn't really given them enough cushion to get over Catherine's death. Though he did possess _some_ tact in waiting a few weeks.

_I wouldn't lack this much tact if there wasn't a need for your services. I've got kids too. I understand. _

But Kei knew that David did have a soft spot for the old days. He didn't want it to be this way though. He was enjoying peace as much as Kei was. But then she thought back to what Lucien said.

_You found the Osean Dream. A home, a family, good jobs. But, you sat there at night...thinking that when you were in the squadron...you'd already achieved it._

Kei had spent the last few weeks hurt, confused and emotionally torn apart. She wanted to seek out her friends' help and advice. But they would never fully understand the emotional roller coaster she was undergoing. Plus, she would be forced to reveal her past. But, there was one person she could count on. She had talked to that old rabble rouser Jack Bartlett, and he managed to locate a friend of a friend. Someone who lived in their own town to her amazement. She'd talked to her dozens of times, but she never figured this woman was someone would understand her plight. The funny thing was that like Kei and David, this woman was seriously out of place in the Northern parts of Osea. She'd come from Cape Landers and even followed their progress while they were Sand Island. The reason that she was out of place was because she was a pure blooded Yuke. But she was a very young Belkan War veteran. Ella Tsagi was her name.

Most pilots had intense nicknames. They called her "Guinevere". She walked in, raindrops all over her. She then approached where Kei was and sat down on the opposing side. She was in the air force when she was only slightly older than Grimm. She'd seen the worst of that war and witnessed several atrocities by both sides, even the June 6th bombings. She left the air force immediately upon returning to Yuktobania and moved back to Osea. She'd spent the last 21 years in the countryside, raising a family and horses. Anything to get away from the horrors of war. She'd been constantly harrased while in Cape Landers because of her heritage during the war in 2010. It was amazing how quickly her own neighbors turned on her and her family after 15 years of getting along with them. Her husband and her oldest son got death threats. She got the hell out of Cape Landers in November 2010.

In the old days, she'd been known for her grace and culture; she was known for her fascination with the ancient fairy tales of old. She'd retained most of that. But now, she was a bit prickly. Then again, it was pouring down outside...and she was always cranky in bad weather. Of course, how many forty-something women were bright and sunny in this weather.

"So, why did you call me here?" she asked.

"You were the only person I could talk to about this." Kei said slowly.

"Okay, shoot." said Tsagi.

Kei hesitated at first.

"...I...well, you told me once that you left because you were tired of war am I right?"

"Yes. Quite. I'd seen so many horrors its...I can barely bring myself to discuss them. Obersalzburg, Hoffnung, Waldreich...it's a series of deep wounds. Wounds I never wanted to re-open. But I'm sure you have as well." Ella said.

"Did you decide right then to leave the life?" asked Kei. Ella took a deep breath.

"Near the end of the war, I was flying with a man, a Belkan man; an ace, like me. A man who once was my enemy. He struck fear into the hearts of pilots in Osea. But the day of the Obersalzburg bombing, he'd had enough and flew into our camp. It was members of Allies were seeking revenge that bombed the city. They wanted to destroy all of Belka's people. They wanted to burn all of Belka to the ground. But it wasn't that. He'd been ordered by his own superiors to participate in the scorched earth operation. He'd have none of it. He and a few of his comrades who defected were the only ones, at that time, who had any common sense. In the end, he had to fight against his own people to end the war." said Ella. She drank a heavy amount of the coffee she had, then continued.

"It was a war that by then had gone too far. And this was before June 6th. I flew by his side then. We both saw it. That was when we both said, "Enough was enough." We both left after that. He went back to his pregnant wife and I returned home. I looked my father in the eye and I said, "No more. You can have my wings. The ones I had were burned away. And I ran away. I ran away and never looked back. I'm glad I did. There were many men's souls on my hands. There was no more good old days."

"What if...what if that bombing had happened and you lost someone you loved. And you never found out why it happened?" Kei asked, slowly. The last word brought her face to face with Ella.

"That's the worst thing. Knowing the truth could be bad. But uncertainty drives people insane. In the end, they either try to let it go or try to find out by any means." said Ella.

"But...what if someone gave you the chance to find out what happened? But you had to go back to your old life?" Kei replied.

"Oh, I see. Would you defy everything you believe in for a chance to find out the truth?" Ella asked intuitively.

"That's what I'm asking. Should I? I mean..." Kei asked. She looked like a helpless puppy.

"What are you talking about?" Ella asked.

"Listen...I know that..."

"Wait...it's your child isn't it? That was horrible. I know but...what..." Ella started.

Kei was absolutely silent. Then she started shaking a bit almost as if she was shivering. She looked sick. Ella knew the circumstances behind Catherine's death. She went to the burial of all things. But, Ella decided to call upon her conspiracy theories...something that she rarely did.

"You think it was some kind of terrorist attack and you want to go back...for revenge." said Ella, rightly guessing. The funny thing about Kei was how transparent she could be when it came to what she really believed in. But, at least she admitted it. It was truth serum. Kei couldn't hold back her emotion. Tears started flowing.

"Yes! That's what I want! I want to know the truth. I want to know why it happened. I want to know if that Lucien was full of it, or if he was telling me..." Kei nearly screamed, breathing heavily while catching herself in her speech. But there was no damage control now. She'd let her true feeling out. Her head collapsed into the table, sobbing almost uncontrollably.

"Hey. Look, it's going to be okay." Ella said trying to comfort her. Ella had kids of her own, and she could imagine how she'd feel if one of them died in such a horrific circumstance.

Kei got up and shook her head, still trying to recover her speech.

"I see. Maybe that's what you really wanted all along."Ella said.

"I grew up, wanting nothing more than wanting to fly. I wanted to be a part of something important. I knew...at least I hoped, that the world would have learned from you saw. But I was wrong. I felt like a fool. My husband was right. War is impossible to avoid. But...would my daughter want me go back? I don't know...but...I want the truth. I..." Kei stammered out. Ella looked right in her eyes.

"I understand. Look, I'll leave you alone. You've got to decide what you want to do. You do what you have to do. But I must warn you. If you're looking for the truth, sometimes what you find out is more horrifying than you can possibly imagine." said Ella, getting up and walking out the door. She unfurled her umbrella and took a long look back at Kei, before walking out in the pouring rain. Kei was staring at the window next to her, the rain coming down and rolling down the window. She could barely see her own reflection in the window. The only thing she could think of what some writer said.

_The worst truth is usually what we see in the mirror._

_**October 28, 2016**_

_**14,000 feet above Driepen Port, Versua**_

_**Western Verusa**_

_**1100 hrs.**_

Anywhere else, Baraka Molina would be just any other pilot. In Verusa, he was an icon; a legend; a pillar of strength. He wasn't sure when it happened, but he'd become a symbol of unity. It was some time before the generals made it official. He'd been dubbed a "Hero of Verusa" by Lord Masson for his efforts, the highest honor possible. Molina had the respect of everyone and no one really cared about being number two, three and so on. Molina was number one, the alpha ace, and there was no denying it.

Baraka Molina had joined the regime some time after it began as a young teenager and he'd gotten his start in the late years of the White Crow's rise to power. He'd been a young twenty year old who was thrown into the fire as a rookie. Joining the White Crow was a no-brainer for a kid who'd grown up starving and constantly losing friends and family to civil war, disease, hunger, and so on. With the White Crow, he was well-fed, disciplined and for the first time in his life...he was respected. He was treated like a human being rather than a second class citizen from Disra. His zeal and his latent ability to fly only earned him even more respect.

Molina had retained his baby faced looks from his youth. Now he was an even thirty and his looks had never changed. To many, he was a gregarious, charismatic figure. He wasn't that attractive though. He still kept the same haircut from his youth. He'd always kept his hair short; he could have passed for a regular soldier. Molina was made a part of an elite Air Wing called the Elite Air Arm, the highest honor of the air force. He'd reached the rank of Commander rather quickly for his age.

There were a couple of interesting figures among Molina's group. There was his wingman, or wing woman, Xaila. But Xalia was more than just a wing woman. She was Xalia Masson, the daughter of Versua's fearless leader. Lord Masson had always preached the idea of a unified nation where its citizens would sacrifice for the good of their neighbors and the land and their peers would do the same for everyone else. Whatever the world thought of Masson himself, it had in fact ended the constant, bitter infighting of the Verusan people. Now Masson believed it was time for Versua's place in the sun. Xalia took that principle to heart and joined the air force a few years ago. It was actually Molina who taught her how to fly and she grew into her role. She was extremely good; though, not because of any latent flying talent. It was her commitment to flying that made her good. Her commitment to learn was what gave her the skill set she possessed. It was interesting because almost none of the members of the elite air arm had been trained in other countries. Most of them were veterans of the late years of the War of Independence(what Lord Masson called the chaotic six years prior to the unification). Xalia and hotshot Alex Haari were the exceptions.

The other members of Molina's unit were handpicked veterans from the old war and from recent years. There were the flight leads Eldrich Morton, Roni Laserth, and Iga Horace with their wingmen, Barus Rothe, Alex Haari, and Sodel Sinora. Haari was the exception because he was apart of Project Abroad, a program set up by Lord Masson and the Air Force Senior Commander Derak al-Rossi in 2009. They a total of 412 pilot candidates to five countries with modern air forces(Sapin, Osea, Yuktobania, Ustio, and North Point). They also subsequently purchased planes from all five countries. When the pilots returned, they would share their knowledge with training officers and this all became the basis for the now mighty Verusan Air Force.

But even as it was at a great strengths now, there was still work to be done. The military was always a work in progress, no matter what country one was in. But morale was extremely high in the Versuan camp. Sotoa's military could easliy be baited and destroyed as the two nations had a long standing rivalry dating back over 700 years. All that was needed was a tipping point. But Lord Masson wasn't quite ready to make a move. He was content to sit back and build his forces. And the world was growing more unhappy with Verusa by the day. Osea most of all; after all they did break some heavy arms embargo laws. Yuktobania was no concern since it was fighting its own civil war to the north. All Masson had to do was attack north and he'd have control of the Yuktobanian industrial heartland, exacting a long overdue revenge on the Yukes. Sotoa would act and Osea would be drawn in to pull them out, and Masson's army could crush them.

But Molina wasn't concerned with that. He had rookies to attend to today. Every few weeks, a select member of the Elite Air Arm would take a batch of rookie pilots on a live fire exercise. They were fresh out of training and could use some much needed guidance. In the chaotic times before the unification, elite pilots would use themselves at bait to set rookie pilots up for their first kills. But since it was still officially peace, there was none of that. But this batch of rookies were very special. Molina's squadron consisted of the eight blood-red colored Su-37s. But, he had a sepcial guest on this one: the youngest daughter of Lord Masson, Sasha Kaida Masson.

Sasha had wanted to be a fighter pilot like her older sister, but during the early days of training in North Point, she broke her leg in an ejection. Her plane had suffered a massive equipment failure. A year ago, she married Ammon Kaida in a semi-arranged deal; he was the son of an army commander. But Sasha liked the charismatic Kaida, a fighter pilot. They were rather happy together. Now, two years removed from that gruesome accident she wanted to fly again. She had her bones strengthened by a nanomachine treatment in Osea. It was a dangerous proposition, but Lord Masson had a lot of trust in Molina. It was supposed to be a training mission after all.

Molina looked back at his passenger. He wasn't concerned about her. Her eyes were wide open and calmly focusing in one direction at a time. She wasn't nervous.

"Are you alright back there?" Molina decided to ask anyway.

"Fine, thank you. It's feel so good to be back in the sky again." she said with that sweet voice. Everyone loved Sasha. She was a pillar of optimism.

"I know." Molina agreed. Molina smiled behind his mask. She was feeling what he was feeling when he first got into the air. The group consisted of two Su-37s from the Mephisto Squadron(Molina's unit), two Mig-21s from Hecate Squadron, and a quartet of Blue Four(Molina using the alternate version of the neologism "nuggets") in F-5Es.

"Mephisto 5 to Mephisto 1." the voice of Alex Haari over the airwaves.

"Go ahead 5." said Molina. Haari was the young guy in the unit. He was fiery, cocky and brash, but he was a damn good pilot. Haari was only twenty six, and he claimed he even managed to meet the legendary "Four Wings of Sand Island" from the last war between the Yukes and Oseans.

"I got something on radar...I'm not sure what they are. Coming from vector 270." said Alex. Baraka quickly looked at his own radar and saw the blips on it. But they couldn't be friendly forces...

"I see it. But...we're the only ones supposed to be out here!" said Molina.

Suddenly, the radio button on Baraka's craft clicked to red, indicating that the command room had detected something. Just what Molina needed! Verusa did have its own AWACS, but that was in the far north of Versua. The staff Command Central Station(CCS) was nothing more than a bunch of washed up, dry, intolerable personalities with the most boring voices. Or maybe that it was that arrogant Lt. Colonel Mesen who was in charge of it.

"Dammit. Go ahead base." Molina said.

"Mephisto 1, this Command Central Station, we've got bogeys moving from 270 to 241. You're the only ones close enough to make an intercept." the voice said. Molina shook his head. Did they even have a clue who was with them? Figures Mesen would put people in harm's way no matter what the circumstances were. Mesen reminded him a lot of Perceval, another cold, ruthless figure. There was no point in arguing. But, he could take care of this himself well enough.

"Damn. Alright. Five, you and Hecate Three and Four move into the slot. Hecate Five, take Blue Four on an end around to Cygnus Base. Do not, I repeat, do not try to engage targets." said Molina. After the confirmation, the other craft began to break off into their respective groups. The four remaining planes spread four wide and flew out to the sea.

"Command Control here. Bogey have increased speed. Their heading right for at 265."

"Hold on Princess. We're going in. It's time to show them how it's done." said Molina.

Sasha held on to her innards. It was going to be one wild and crazy ride. Molina knew that the bogeys had crossed the Green Zone a zone of waters controlled by the Versuans that led out about 100 miles. Apparently, they came in low to dodge their radar as they were almost in the Red Zone, 50 miles in. In the Red Zone, all bets were off. It was shoot to kill. After a tense few minutes, they were over open sea looking into the distance for unseen targets. It wasn't their planes. Patrols for the area had already passed by this morning.

"Still approaching. No response to communications." said Alex, who'd been issuing the usual spiel, "You are entering Verusan air space..."

"Master Arm On." Molina said, following usual procedure.

"Roger, Master Arm On. Bogeys at 55 miles." said Alex. Molina activated his long range missiles and managed to get a lock on all four incoming targets.

"Getting a lock..." he said to himself.

"Are you really going to fire at those guys?" Sasha said. There was a sense of urgency in her voice. Molina ignored her.

"Radar alert, missiles launched!" said one of the Hecate fighters. Molina didn't panic but Sasha did. Her gasp could be heard over the radio. But before she could speak, Molina had to say his piece.

"AMRAAM possible inbound, evade!" he said. He knew the Sotoan Air Force's backbone was the F-16 so he figured at that range, AMRAAMs were the sensible choice. Molina threw his aircraft to the left while dropping chaff. But as he reoriented his aircraft, something strange was going on.

"They're turning away. That's...weird. A hit and run maybe?" said Beras, pilot of Hecate Four. The funny thing was that there was no missiles fired at all. There were no contrails. Nothing. Now Molina knew what it was, and so did Alex.

"It was goddamn red herring." he said.

"What?" asked Sasha.

"They faked us out with the Canary Trick. Damn Sotoans. They're just testing us. They want us to fire back at them...give them an excuse to start a dogfight. I can't believe we fell for that trick. The Oseans were doing it back in Heierlark."

"It's a good thing it was fake...I was about to let loose a couple of long range missiles myself." said Alex.

There was a bit of silence and Molina redirected all the aircraft back inland.

"Phew. I thought we were in for a shooting war again." said Sasha.

Molina shook his head. It was clear that she was a bit naive about everything. _If only she knew..._

_**October 28, 2016**_

_**November City, Osea**_

_**Sora Park**_

_**2000 hrs**_

Cormorance Alou wondered why he even bothered to look at the news. Potenza, his lovely wife, rolled her eyes and scoffed at the media having the same things on over and over. But whenever they brought up Verusa, both of them looked at it with a mixture of scorn and interest.

_...reported a possible engagement between Sotoan and Verusan aircraft on the western coastline..._

_...Eastern Coalition nation considering more sanctions against Verusa..._

_...Hard line forces are still in control of Cinigrad as bitter street fighting between loyalists and rebels continue..._

By now, everyone was paying attention to the news in Verusa. Verusa was nine time zones away for Cormorance, and since he'd escaped long ago...one would think that Verusa was the last thing on his mind. But with all this news, it was impossible not to think about it. Cormorance had met his wife when he was stationed at Sand Island. Sand Island was a stone's throw away from Rouge Park, a small city heavily populated by Verusans immigrants and refugees. Rouge Park was by no means a afluent place, but it was much better than Ciudad.

The reason Cormorance and Potenza were tired of the news about Verusa was because like most Verusan born Oseans, they knew the truth. The truth was this: despite what the White Crows had done to modernize and unite the country, almost nothing had changed! The money that was pouring in were going into their military and the people were still poor and impoverished. The only major difference was that there were no longer tribes and gangs killing each other. But now, with all these events, it was clear that things were not getting any better politically. Masson's message of peace was slowly transforming into more aggressive words. When shady leaders say things like "place in the sun", most people can figure out how things were going to work out. The Osean Military was already altering its training scenarios to a Yuke/Verusan one. It was now clear that if there was going to be a war, Verusa was going to be the battlefield.

But unlike in 2010, the Osean people would at least be much better prepared for a war if it came to it. And Verusa was the last place Cormorance wanted to be. Verusa brought many terrible memories: eating out of the trash, civil war, slavery, theft, murder, corruption, drugs, child prostitution, and so on.

Too many bad dreams. But at least his two kids would not have to go through that. Leera and Micho, three years old and one year old respectively, would have good lives. He was looking forward to spoiling them when they got older. They could have all the things that Cormorance never had. So when little Leera jumped up on his lap, he played with her to her heart's content. He was lucky to be alive. But then again, he'd faced death before. Cormorance wasn't afraid of his own death. He was afraid of what it would do to his family.

_**October 28, 2016**_

_**Ciudad, Verusa**_

_**Western Verusa**_

_**1400 hrs**_

_I hate dealing with the brass._

Baraka Molina thought that every time he encountered them. He was always suspicious of the top brass. They were a bunch of shady figures outside of General Rossi. Rossi was the kindest general in the bunch because he was a man who understood people. People like Generals Massimo and Percival were slave-drivers and ruthless men. Molina was back in Ciudad after the training flight. The entire incident was covered up, but the international press was having a field day. Molina expected to be. The only thing Molina wanted to see was Xalia. Her presence calmed him down. She was in the rear waiting him in a jeep to take him back to the villa, one of the perks of his status. Soon, he was approached by General Percival. The hairs on Sasha's back stood up at that man's presence. She quickly walked away, disgusted by his mere presence. It was no secret that Percival was the biggest brown noser in the entire military. But it was also no secret that he'd done some seriously underhanded(and that was being kind) things to get to the top.

"That was an impressive...lack of arms." said Percival.

"Sir, if they want to fight with fake missiles, fine. I don't control that." Molina replied.

"I understand. Did Sasha enjoy it?" said Rossi, coming up to shake Molina's hand.

"Fine. She took it well. Though she actually was hoping I wouldn't engage those fighters. I was a breath away."

"Strange." said Percival. Sasha looked back and kept walking.

"She's only twenty one friend. Young and naive, but that's not her fault." said Rossi to the younger General.

"Don't fret though. Before long, we'll have more important work for you and your men." said Percival to Molina.

"I see." said Molina. Molina had enough of these men. He brushed past them and got his usual kiss on the cheek from Xalia before they rode off. Percival approached Rossi.

"Strange about Sasha. We should keep an eye on her. And her husband. We can't afford any seditious thoughts." said Percival.

"So she, a civilian...royalty, yes...but a civilian is not allowed to doubt in the things we do? Like she fully understands." said Rossi, rather annoyed.

"That the Osean way of thinking. Who needs that?" Percival said angrily.

"I'm actually happy for her. She's in love, she's got much going for her. Sasha is the sole embodiment of grace and kindness to our land, while her sister represents loyalty and bravery in the face of death. Which would you rather have now? It almost makes me not want a war. Perhaps we can use her to improve our public image." said Rossi, looking at the figure of Sasha.

"What foolishness. Lord Masson will never agree." said Percival.

"I already spoke to him about it. He respected my opinion but, I doubt it'll happen. Is it so wrong for an old man to dream Praeten?" said Rossi.

"Ha! Dreams, love...such needless philosophical topics. In the end, power, strength and commitment are what make empires great. And with the tower, we shall be unstoppable. Love means nothing long term; power is absolute." said Percival.

"Jealous of her? Can't blame the Lord's daughters for refusing the hand of a cranky man like you." said Rossi. He knew Percival's embarrassing attempt to marry into the Masson family.

"I'd watch your tongue. Your air force is going to need our invention to support you. A weapon of unprecedented absolute power." said Percival.

"Don't be so sure of that my young friend." said Rossi. "Giants have fallen before."

And with that General Rossi walked away. Percival bit his lip in anger. All the work and he was still being invalidated by those cranky old fools! He'd learned from the mistakes of the past wars with these kinds of ultimate weapons. There was no way that the Black Tower could possibly be toppled.

_**November 1, 2016**_

_**St. Helene, Dakota District**_

_**Osea**_

**_1100 hrs._**

The pain of losing Catherine hurt David most of all. He'd tried not to let it affect his life, but it was impossible. After all, Catherine was his mother's name. His mother had died in a senseless killing by some street thug. His father had died bravely fighting in that war so long ago. He hardly knew him. So he tried to be there for his child as much as possible. He tried to make every moment count because there was no telling when the unthinkable could happen. And sure enough it did in the blink of an eye. The most lasting memory of her was David reading her that book _Archon_, that tale involving knights and princesses and dragons. And she'd always love her father's rather humorous impersonation of the Black Dragon.

Now he only sat in the room alone, letting the last of his thoughts pour over him. David had been fighting with himself for so long. He wanted to just come out and tell his wife he wanted to exact revenge on the bastards that did this. Because David was beginning to see the chain of events that Lucien was referencing. Despite being an asshole at first, David began to realize that maybe Lucien was wrong. Maybe he made up the spiel about the weapon? Maybe it was a bomb. He had to be sure. Because if they were willing to do this to his child and a thousand others, there was no telling what they would do next. Which begged the question, if he knew the truth...why didn't everyone else know? The media was not talking about the explosion as much, but when they were...they were confused and just making things up. He had to be sure.

"He's here." Kei said peeking into the room.

David got up off the floor and walked into the living room. There was that Lucien Jackson and George Mason Clarke, in different colored suits this time. But Lucien was still carrying that old black briefcase. He sat down on one of the chairs and opened the case, reavealing a pair of papers.

"Okay, I've given you plenty of time to make a decision. But we must make haste. Things have...changed." Jackson said. David hesitated, but asked anyway. Maybe he could establish some leverage.

"Before I give you the answer, I want to know what it is you expect us to do."

"Assuming you say yes? The same thing you did before. I've assembled a group of competent flyers under the name Wardog that will serve as your backbone. They were all handpicked by your companions. I asked them to select from a list of candidates I had. They picked eight. The name was re-used in 2012, so its no surprise to anyone. Most consider it a privilege to fly under that name. And besides, even if you tried to leverage your abilities against me, I cannot fully divulge those secrets. They are a matter of national security. So it's our way, or no deal. And since we've paid for all this, your alternate identities, recovered your daughter's body before anyone else's, fixed you up...Not to mention the fact of keeping you hidden from any of your suriving...enemies. I think you do owe us something in return." said Jackson.

Jackson did have a legitimate point. But David wanted to know more. Jackson needed them...not the other way around. But David was desperate; this emotional pain and uncertainty was tearing them and their relationship apart. They never felt so helpless.

"So, do we have to sign anything or...?" David said.

"These identification papers were forged by Harling's assistance years ago. Codename Project Razgriz. It was always intended for you to return if needed. So, these papers were false idneties and combat records that check out in the Oured DOD's system. Of course then we'll have to re-oritent you back into the life...but that won't be a hassle...knowing your skills. But, then again, if you don't. You'll never know the truth...and a lot of people are going to die. And those deaths will be on your hands. So what do you say?"

It took both of them a long time to sign, but they did. Kei did it was a trembling hand. They'd agreed that whatever they did, they would do it together. Now they hoped they made the right decision. As a rather sick looking Kei handed back the paper, Jackson took it and smiled. Kei felt like a complete whore. In the span of one second, she wanted to jump off a bridge. She was a hypocrite now. She'd sold out to find out the truth. But then again, she thought back to those days when she'd felt alive after a combat mission...even though she hated war.

"Thank you. I knew you'd come around. You'd have nothing to lose." Jackson said while smiling.

"So, what's the deal? What happened?" David asked. He'd fulfilled his part of the bargain. He wanted those responsible for his daughter's death.

"What truth? I told you the truth when I came here." Jackson said.

"...What?!" David said incredulous.

"I said, 'your misfortune, your tragedy was the result of this so called modernizing Verusa testing a so-called _self-defense_ weapon'...did I not?" said Jackson.

"Yes." Kei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There you go...that's the truth." Jackson said. Both David and Kei's faces were frozen in complete shock. It didn't quite sink until a few seconds...then Kei realized the unthinkable: they'd been hoodwinked.

"You should see the looks on your faces. Your psychological profiles nailed you like a hammer on nails. You guys were total over thinkers. You both have extreme emotional fragilities that come from you both being orphaned at young ages. You overcompensated your feelings for Catherine the way you would have wanted your parents to do to you. You were so afraid of losing her that when you did, it tore you both apart. It was affecting you so much that your work life, your social life was falling apart. There was no intimacy at all. You two would go out every Friday, now you confine yourselves to your rooms. You both became basket cases. You wouldn't talk and when you talked, you shouted. You'd get angry at strangers. Then yell at yourselves." Jackson began.

"It was different from Davenport's death. It was the circumstances of war. You were put into that position and knew why it happened. But with Catherine, you had no control. You were used by some unseen factor. You were desperate for answers and I was able to exploit that. One rule of war to exploit every advantage. I told you the truth right to your faces and typical types of people you are...you spent all week thinking about it...when the truth was right in front of you!" Jackson said with a smile on his face.

"Wha..what?" David wondered. Then it hit him, they'd been played like a violin. Lucien used their grieving to his advantage to sign some government waiver to bring them back to the old life...just for payback. _That bastard!_

"You two tried to out think yourselves. You guys knew it was an attack. You guys aren't stupid, but your so called ethics got in the way. You were both wacked out because you tried to figure out if that was the right thing to do. I never lied to you...You spent a week trying to convince yourselvesthat I _did _li_e _to you in some vain hope to find some comfort. But...you responded exactly the way I expected. You are who I thought you were." Jackson said smiling.

"You son of a..." Kei said, gritting her teeth in anger. The one thing Kei hated was being lied to...and this was a plain insult. She realized that this Lucien Jackson was just another underhanded government official.

"Before you go any further...let me say this. I know you think me unscrupulous and cruel but...I don't enjoy playing mind games. It's just my job. Besides, I didn't go through all this trouble just to screw with your heads. I did it because we need you." said Jackson, trying to be more civil.

"We're dealing with a weapon we know little about. But we know what it was based of, and that alone is pretty scary. And we need the services of those who've dealt with this before." Clarke said. After a long pause, the couple began to understand why.

"Speak." Kei said, having lost her patience. Jackson stood up.

"The cruise liner you were on was struck by a massive charge of concentrated, plasma based electromagnetic energy...twice. The device that was used for this was created by the same people who supplied both sides during the last war. I'm sure you know who I'm referring to." Jackson said, his eyes concentrating on them. Now they made the connection.

"Grunder Industries..." Kei said.

"One of the scientists wanted for that corruption scandal and arms embargo violation trial in 2012 was this woman: Gabriella Mordova Zorba." said Jackson, pulling out a few pictures of people and satellite photos. "She was their head researcher; a former employee of a weapons plant and the Unversity of Dinsmark, Belka. In 2007, she developed a device called the X-9A Electromagnetic Mass Capacitor, codename: "Dis". It was a generator capable of manipulating the atomic particles of chemicals in the air we breath into a form of superheated electricity that can be manipulated by the use of certain ultrasonic signals. It was originally supposed to be added to the Arkbird. It's essentially a stealth weapon. She skipped town just after the last war ended. Low and behold, she shows up in Verusa."

David actually recognized "Dis" it was the name of the city the Hero in the story of _Archon_ traveled to so save the Princess. That devilsh name was a fitting one for such a hellish sounding weapon.

"We know they found a way to weaponize it, but we are not sure how. They've got that project under so many wraps its impossible to find out the truth." Clarke said.

"We know it was the device that did it because the exact effects that it created the EMP are exactly what the original report stated. It took us a week to find that old record." said Jackson.

"Now you see where you fit in. This criminal mastermind Zorba is working with that Masson madman. The extent of what they did with the X-9A is unknown. We think it may have been delivered through an aircraft because there was a couple of jets in a 100 mile range. That was the limit of the X9-A's range, and at that range the effect was severely diluted. You were lucky, if you'd been closer..." said Clarke.

"So what do we do?" asked David.

"We know the enemy is going to invade the Yuke eastern shoreline, but we don't know when and we cannot allow to happen. If they take the Sonza, or the Central Highlands, the West is all but finished. There'd be no dominate power in the West to keep the Versuans in check. And they'd have the resources to mass produce this weapon...and that's even more frightening." Jackson said.

There was a long silence from the two. Now David fully understood. Now he knew why everyone was making a big deal about this country.

"Now...that you understand the magnitude of the situation. Let's get you two ready."

"But...what about the house and the..." Kei asked quickly looking around.

"Don't worry about that, I'll have one of your friends watch over it. We'll make up some story. And extended vaction to...Ustio. That'll work." said Jackson. Kei and David took a long pained look at each other. They only hoped their willingness to sell out for revenge against everything they believed in wouldn't come back to haunt them. Then again, their own pain had allowed themselves to be manipulated by this Lucien Jackson. But to be honest, this was no ambiguous war in front of them. That was the only solace they took. Slowly, the world began to line up against Verusa. And it seemed that the Razgriz were not exempt. So they slowly prepared to return to the old life they once lived...a life that, to be even more honest, they hadn't fully let go of.

_You do what you have to do. But I must warn you. If you're looking for the truth, sometimes what you find out is more horrifying than you can possibly imagine._

Next: Return of A Dragon


	4. Return of a Dragon

Chapter 4: Return of a Dragon

_When I first entered the sky, there was nothing but a blue sea of clouds and wind. I felt like a bird in flight. And when I came back, it was almost as if I'd never left. It was then I realized what I wanted...I wanted to be the bird. - Ammon Kaida_

**_Air Force One_**

_**Over Oured, ****Osea**_

**_November 11, 2016_**

**_0700 hrs_**

President Cohen cringed over the report from Section Seven. From what they'd been able to gather, the Versuans were only a hair away from invading Southeast Yuktobania in full. They weren't even trying to be conspicuous anymore. It was obvious from the intelligence they'd picked up. But the Sotoans required less than that to act. Cohen, who'd been critical of the Sotoans before, was surprised that they were the first to act. They'd deployed a pair of carrier groups near the bay between the two countries. Not to mention that they'd deployed some 100,000 of their army to Southern Yuktobania.

They had five divisions on the border, backed up by the eight the Yukes had. But they could no expect no support from the north. Northern Yuktobania was a mess. The Communist partisans had taken the north, but they were in the midst of their own strife. Not to mention the fact that the hard-liners had begun a new offensive. The last major bastion of democracy in Yuktobania was Ocktabursk. With this in mind, the Osean government had to act in order to keep the fragile Circum-Pacifc Coalition from tearing into pieces.

To mediate this, over the last several days Cohen ordered the airborne divisions (79th and 17th) into action; this as well as the first and second Marine Expeditionary Force and the 1st Marine Division; a total troop count of about 40,000 troops, only about eight percent of the effective Osean military force. But they were strictly there for "humanitarian reasons". That was an effective bluff, a believable one since Southern Yuktobania was constantly in some kind of peril from Communist partisans or simply the horrible natural disaster-inducing weather they'd had over the last few weeks. The divisions were stationed around Dresdene, ready to rush in if needed.

But Cohen knew that Masson wouldn't buy it. She knew what kind of man Masson was. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He'd catered to the previous administration, because they were liberals of course. But no more. Cohen had a good insight into people. She worked with the Air Force's psychological operations (psyops) in her early days. She had a talent for figuring out the weaknesses of people, much like her friend Lucien Jackson who'd been essential in her election campaign.

Jackson was so good at what he did, Cohen wanted him to take a commanding role in the squadron he was building in November City. Jackson's department was working furiously to determine the Versuans were planning to do. But what made everyone nervous was not what the Versuans were going to do, but what was this "tower" they mentioned? Jackson reported several references to some "tower" in Masson's public addresses. Was there a link between this tower and the X-9A? Cohen could only hope the truth could be discovered soon...or there would be more deaths than those poor people on that cruise liner.

**_Chauzto Base, Versua_**

**_Near Ciudad, Versua_**

**_November 11, 2016_**

Ammon Kaida was a man who was in a perfect situation at the perfect time. The man was barely 26 and he had it all. He'd somehow managed to romance the most attractive girl of the Masson family in Sasha. He'd been born into what most countries would consider an upper-middle class, which was an extremely rare situation in Verusa. His family was lucky to be in northern Verusa where the revolution started. His father joined the party the day his own town became swept up in the mania of the White Crow. Kaida was lucky to be able to study abroad in the land of the enemy, Osea. But while he was in Bana City, he realized his true calling was not the written arts, something he was extremely good at, he realized he wanted to fly.

In Osea, being a pilot was something that was romanticized in their own strange sensibility. He was certainly smart enough to do it. So his father pulled some strings and got him into Project Abroad. He was sent off to the brutal cold of Heirlark and there he trained alongside another fellow Versan, one of the aces of the Elite Air Squadrons..Alex Haari. Kaida, despite a relatively new discovery of fate in his life, was one of the better pilots trained there. He was as highly regarded as those "Four Wings of Sand Island" that were trained there. Soon after, Versua was whole again and he was taken home when his term was up.

He quickly made a name for himself testing new planes that Versua manufactured. There was something about General Rossi and his obsession of getting the young talents of the air force involved in the country's rebuilding. But it was paying dividends. Rossi's ideas now resulted in a base pool of young, skilled talent that could teach younger generations the art once the first generation grew older. As the years passed, his skill grew. But, his lack of an ego allowed Kaida to accept the fact that he'd never be as highly regarded as Baraka Molina. Kaida was fine being number two. He'd learned to accept the comfort he'd been rewarded in his life. Even more so now that Sasha had entered his life.

The problem for Kaida was combat experience. He didn't have that, unlike Haari or Molina. He was talented for sure, but had yet to be tried in the fires of combat. But one of the benefits of being inside the Masson family was that most rumors were based on fact. And the fact was that a war was on the horizon. Masson preached about taking revenge on the nations that had humiliated them over the years. It was a far cry from his early doctrines, but no one seemed to care. The common people felt the same way...or at least that's what he was told. How would Kaida know the truth? He'd been privileged his whole life. So he may have been shocked if he'd learned about the life of a fellow Versuan named Cormorance Alou who ate out of dumpsters to stay alive as a child. But his life had been shielded from most of those truths.

Kaida was still a soldier, albeit, a very privileged one. And Kaida wanted to fight in this so called war. Officially the world was still at peace, but day after day, it seemed the world was lining up against Versua. Kaida didn't care so much about the ideals of war or the morality. He was more concerned with his own life. And his life carried a duty, and he intended to perform his duty to his greatest possible ability. In six years, Kaida had flown just about everything once. But this...was the greatest gift of all. He'd flown it once and loved it. And now...it was being given to him like a birthday present to a small child. He couldn't take his eyes of this plane.

It was an Su-47 Berkut.

"Do you like it?" Baraka Molina said, coming up from behind him. Kaida's eyes were wide open.

"Do I like it? Are you insane? I love this. I've always been fond of Yuktobanian aircraft design. Simple and rugged. Less sophistication for more reliability." said Kaida pointing to the airplane.

"But this spares no expense. It is a special model from the Yuke Communist supporters, our friends in the North. They want us to try it out first." said Molina.

"I will do that...assuming this becomes a war." said Kaida.

"Just between me and you. It will. We can finally take revenge on the Republic Yukes who stole from us for so long; and then the Sotoans for all their years of just...existing on the same continent as us. That and the slaves they took from us." said Molina. Kaida wasn't buying it. He knew Molina wasn't a man of idealism.

"So many grudges. There must be another reason."

"People like us don't need a reason. Just a target and orders."

"What will the Oseans do?"

"They will come...and we shall humble them...just like the others. To be honest, I've never liked their culture. They are too young of a nation to even have what they call culture. What they have are merely sensibilities."

"So you're saying that 'Osean culture' is an oxymoron. They do have a culture. It's just...different."

"But...we won't be involved in this struggle. At least, that's what I've heard." said Molina. Kaida frowned.

"No?"

"Not yet. We will eventually but...not yet. If there is a...yet." said Molina.

"So no one knows? I hate these times. No one knows a damn thing anymore." said Kaida, frustrated.

"Then again...people like us don't need to know anything. We just keep our mouths shut when they tell us too and follow orders. What else is there?" said Molina in usual style.

"By the way...have you heard anything about this...tower the brass keeps mentioning?" asked Kaida.

"Not much. I'm surprised you haven't heard more though."

"My father refuses to talk about it. It is a secret matter of the highest priority." said a familiar voice.

Both men turned and saw the brown-haired, slim figure of Xalia Masson. Masson was the least attractive of the three sisters, but that wasn't a bad thing considering that she was more attractive than most women. But despite being the ugly duckling, she was always her father's favorite. She'd been the most proactive about her father's dream to unite this split and struggling country.

"Xaila! Where have you been hiding?" asked Molina walking up to her. She walked slightly past him and looked at Kaida.

"You father was talking about it. I wanted to ask around, but no one knows anything." she said.

"I assumed as much. They're boasting about this tower like no tomorrow. It is as if they think it can win the war for us. Again, if there is going to be a war." said Kaida.

"If it helps us win a war, I'm all for it." said Molina.

"I can understand. We'll I'd better give this thing a test flight. I wish it had two seats; I'm sure Sasha would love to be on board. Maybe I'll make a flyover of the villa." said Kaida with a smile on his face.

"Have your fun now. We may never have this again." said Molina.

Both of the Mephisto wingmen walked out of the hangar. Molina turned back towards Kaida, then turned to Xalia. They walked in silence for a few minutes, then Xalia turned to Baraka.

"You didn't tell him, didn't you?" she asked.

"That we're going to the front? No. Now, if there is a war on...the question is when? And if they're going to call one on. No one knows anything anymore." said Baraka.

**_Highway I-30_**

**_100 miles away November City, Osea_**

**_November 11, 2016_**

Lucien Jackson was surprised at the re-assignment but he figured it was for the best. Especially since this unit was going to be the one that would attack and destory this massive superweapon the Versuans were building...if they were not already finished it. George Mason Clarke was not with him this time. It was just him and Lovecraft and Nagase in the back of a black Secret Service car. The president wanted him to temporarily step down from Section Seven's head and instead re-open Section Three, an old Belkan War mercenary wing of the Osean Air Force. He'd resume his original rank of Lt. Colonel, the rank he possessed when he left the force several years ago. He'd earned that rank during the war, and retired to the government sector. Considering he did in the reconnaissance squadrons, it was no big move for Jackson. It was the closest thing to an Air Force Special Forces as they could get. The pilots picked for the 373rd would serve as the backbone for this force.

What amazed Jackson though was how quickly these two former members of the so-called "Razgriz" were able to relearn the basics of combat that five years of a normal life had eroded away. They were still rather sharp, though not quite as sharp as before. After all, both were pushing thirty after all. Factoring in their personal issues and it was going to take some time before they were back to the truly "elite" status. But apart from three or four pilots in the 373rd, these pilots once known as Blaze and Edge outperformed the 373rd and it wasn't even close. Jackson had yet to share the

"I'm impressed with what you guys managed to do in such a short time. Though I thought you could have tighten up on your delivery on Mission S18...that was not good enough... "

"Well, we didn't forget how to fly overnight. I used to fix them until you showed up." said David, being a bit harsh.

"I sense resentment." said Jackson.

"Resentment? No, just annoyance at your nitpicking but regardless..." Nagase said, rather upset.

"Nitpicking? You haven't flown in combat in five years, so I reserve the right to evaluate how I choose." Jackson said. Nagase shot him a hostile look.

Nagase's patience with Jackson had about evaporated by now. She resisted the urge to say what she really wanted to say to him, which included a lot vulgar language laced with f-words. She'd given him plenty of rope, and now he'd hung both of them with it as far as she was concerned. David was a little more indifferent, mainly because he really didn't want to antagonize this man. Considering his...job description, there was no telling what this man was capable of. He'd heard rumors from Grimm about what Section Seven really did. The torture rooms, the black bags, the interrogations, the secret prisons and the fact that agents had to endure this type of horrid environment in their training. It was clear to the couple that this Lucien Jackson was much more than he claimed.

"Whatever. You haven't told us where we're going." David said brushing it off.

"We're heading for a facility called Raven's Lake Air Force Base. It's a new facility, but considering my connection, but a bit more secretive. We can begin squadron level operations there under my command.

"You're commanding the squadron?" Nagase asked.

"Sort of. Think of me as a supervisor. In reality, and don't let anyone else know that I told you this early...but as we speak, the President is sending airborne and Marine units over to Southern Versua as we speak. Sotoa has sent its own peacekeeping forces, but that's mostly to deal with the struggling Yukes in the Sevaspol area. But both leaders know now that we could be heading for a tense situation. War? Of course. When...we're not sure. But we cannot send over massive amounts of forces yet. Not without Congress approval...or a Versuan Declaration of War. They want the Sonza and all of and we're in their way." said Jackson. Nagase raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't sending any military presence be considered an aggressive action?" she said.

"We're trying to play this as smartly as we can as not to tip our hand...but at this point, we're spitting into the wind. We can't maintain neutrality here. If we bail on the Yukes, the Coalition falls apart, and we face a possible invasion from either the hard-line Communists or the Versuans." said Jackson. Now this is getting ridiculous, David thought.

"I would wonder if your people are overreacting..." David started.

"Oh we're quite sure that Masson will invade the north. We're still trying to determine how they intend to use the X-9A. But we can guarantee it won't be for self defense. The Verusans hate the Yukes by culture. And for good reason, especially what they did in the early eighties; the oil scandals after the Cold War ended, that ring a bell? Now Masson's got the people riled up. But considering Masson's history..."

"You said he was a war criminal?" said Nagase.

"He was Versuan born, but moved to Belka. He was believed part of the radical Rald party in Belka for a short time, but he vanished a year after the war. He was also accused of ordering the murder of several Yuke POWs but nothing stuck to him. He's been evading international forces for some time. We never could get anything on the guy. It pissed the CIA off." said Jackson.

"What's the squadron like?" Nagase asked.

"A collection of skilled personnel, but some have...'issues' to be kind." Jackson said rolling his eyes. Nagase and David shared strange looks. "It's not that bad."

"So what's the command structure like?" asked David.

"You'd resume the same ranks you had before, but under different names and doctored past. You'd be flight leads along with Major Scirro, Captains Alou and Elbe. They won't know the difference. They could use some help to be honest with you. The rest are 2nd Lieutenants with no combat experience at all. Scirro and Alou have experience and Elbe is a Red Flag graduate. All you need is some time to integrate into the squadron. The problem is all our equipment isn't there yet, so we'll need to continue using our new VR simulators."

David hated the VR simulators. He wanted to wrap his fingers around the real throttle and stick. David turned his head to the desolate country side as the vehicle they were in went off the highway and onto another road. As the road began narrow, the isolated base came into view. It didn't look much different from Sand Island.

"This is a serious case of deja vu." Kei said noticing the same.

"The squadron S-3 is in the ready room waiting for you." Jackson said.

**_Sometime later..._**

**_Inside the Ready Room_**

**_Raven's Lake Air Base_**

Andrew Fisch was a funny guy...most of the time. But other times he was just annoying. Andrew just had some...issues. He was at odds with most wingman...and decent people in general. He was often regarded as a skirt-chasing, heavy drinking gambler...in other words, Andrew was the stereotypical maverick. While Michael was simply arrogant, Andrew had a questionable work ethic and just mailed it in at times. But he was a very experienced flyer, even though he didn't seem that way. And it was this style of casual commitment that got him into a lot of trouble. Fisch was good friends with Alou even though they were a rank apart. Alou had pulled some strings because he really didn't want to see Fisch end up in some bookie place in the slums of Oured. They were both sitting in the ready room after finishing a round of VR flight training.

"Look at her. I'm thinking about asking her out." he said to Cormorance Alou.

"Andrew...listen. I'm not one to judge but...you think you'd consider the girlfriend you're already dating! The fifth one in seven months!" said Alou angrily.

"Oh, come on sir...I can't pass this up. Women like this come along once in a lifetime." said Andrew.

"You're girlfriend is just as attractive and you're interested in this shrew? Look at her! She's dressed like a whore!" said Alou pointing at the provocative picture.

"Oh, she is not! To be honest sir, you're bit prudish. What you never thought about another woman?" said Andrew. "What? No? You mean to tell me that in five years of being married you never once looked at another attractive woman and thought about how cute she looked."

"Once or twice maybe...but that doesn't justify what you do. You cheated on your girlfriend with a woman, whom you also cheated on with Davidson's wife. That's what got you kicked out of Vega Squadron! Don't you remember what I told you?" said Alou. Andrew shook his head.

"Sir, life is short. They'll be plenty of chances to commit later. I'm not ready to." he said.

"You're two years older than me! And you're still not ready to commit to anything. The only thing you're good at is flying. If you were a mediocre pilot you'd be in the Vegas District gambling your life savings on the blackjack table with your 84th girlfriend in two years! If two penguins can stay together forever; if one can find his mate in a sea of lookalike animals...you've got no hope." said Alou.

"Whatever." said Fisch, brushing it off.

Suddenly, both men turned and saw the trio of people entering into the room. Both men straightened up...sort of. Alou was expecting these people, until Andrew just had to get him all riled up with that argument.

"Oh...oh sorry. It's the new guys." said Alou, shaking his head. Jackson was the first to speak

"Mr and Mrs. Sosabee, this is Flight Captain Cormorance Alou and 1st Lieutenant Andrew Fisch, formerly of the 345th TFS. Captain, may I present Captains Jonathan and Ava Sosabee." said Jackson. Alou took a look at the two. It was not anything familiar about them...it was just a look.

"Wow, this is the first married couple I've seen in the air force. Well, it's a pleasure." said Alou, moving in to shake their hands, "I'm sure you'll find a much welcome home here. Now where is that Polly?"

"Who?" David asked.

"There she is. Where have you been? You're late!" said Alou talking to a tall, blonde, green-eyed female figure that entered into the room.

"I was kicking ass in this card game, and I was in the zone..." the woman started.

"Oh, for the love of God..." Alou scoffed.

"Captain Polly Elbe, formerly of Capital Air Command. Our squadron's windblown, ruddy faced representative from the Boston District." said Alou.

"How are you?" she said in her thick Northern accent. She moved to shake Nagase's hand, which was unsettling to say the least. Nagase was about 5'2". Elbe was about 6'3. Elbe's personality was just as unnerving considering everything she knew about Boston, Osea. Elbe just looked like some hard-partying, heavy drinking psychotic-looking woman.

"Pleasure." replied Nagase...hesitantly. She took her husband aside.

Honey...what the hell did we get ourselves into?

Just think about why we came...I'm sure they'll make up for their...bizarre behavior with their flying.

"Alright, let's get everyone together. We got a lot of work to do." said Jackson.

**_Caste van Alde_**

_**Clavis****Verusa**_

**_November 11, 2016_**

**_0800 hrs_**

William Masson was always a dreamer. Many years past, he dreamed of the day that he could be an important figure in the world. He couldn't remember why he started having those dreams. However, it was irrelevant; once he started pursing that dream...all the power in the world came his way. But what was power? What did power mean in Strangereal? It was ability to dominate others, to rule over vast tracts of land and in order to do that...one had to be able to do one or two things. One had to peacefully manage a piece of land with a population with a minimum of catastrophes, and situations had to be handled quickly should there be any. A powerful leader had to manage resources and supplies, natural and non-natural. Or..one could wage war with a minimum amount of casualties on the friendly side to gain these things. Masson though was never about the former...but the latter. Peace never led to true power. Peace bred opportunity for rivals. Successful war and controlled chaos was the key to ultimate power and control. He learned this growing up in Versua.

So Masson set out to learn the trade of war, getting his start in Belka and Erusea. He worked his way up as a mercenary and later a full-fledged officer in the chaotic days of the seventies and eighties. Masson though, had only one flaw. There was deep rage beneath his benign exterior; rage that led to some...unfortunate decisions to say the least. But during those trying times, he learned another valuable lesson about power...a leader was only as good as the people around him. With some help from allies he'd gained over the years, he squirmed free of justice and fled Belka with his family. When he returned home to Versua, things were worse than ever. But inside that chaotic land...there laid the infrastructure for a nation that could become a world power. If it could only stop shooting itself in the foot...

For three years he gathered the men and women who shared his belief of unification. They may have been considered criminals and horrible people elsewhere (and they were partially right), but they were skilled and well-connected. Masson's leadership and intelligence bore forth the White Crow party. Soon, Masson was swiping up constituents left and right. But the tribal mindset was the hardest thing to deal with. The tribes were causing the troubles. Masson needed weapons for his war, so he made connections himself, eliminating the middle man and was soon funded with weapons from all over under the objective of bringing peace to Versua. Six years later, they won. It was not without cost, but it was done. The entire southern peninsula was Versuan territory. One land, one country, one language.

But Masson knew that wasn't enough. In order to become a world power, he needed a symbol of some kind. And learning from his predecessors, that symbol (given Masson's love of war) had to be a weapon. The idea of the Black Tower was not actually six years in the making, but rather ten. Masson got the help he needed from critical sources including Makin and Perceval. But it was an ambitious scientist, facing prosecution from Osea no doubt, that made it all possible. It was her device that finished it all. The Black Tower was built from an ancient Versuan ruin and not a one knew about it outside the central government. Masson simply used the POWs from his campaigns as well as other scum like thieves, murderers and rapists for labor. His oldest daughter Portia actually played a role in the organization of labor. Of course, there were no witnesses afterwards to verify the construction. With the eyes of the world elsewhere, Masson pulled an epic feat under the noses of the superpowers. It was a devilish, intelligent scheme...and it was fitting that it was Perceval that gave the Black Tower its most deserving moniker...The Dispater.

Now, it was 45 years to the day that Masson had those dreams. And now, it was time to fulfill the destiny he'd long awaited. All around his castle's main meeting room were the all of the movers and shakers as well great generals of his army. An army that was 12 years in the making: Rossi, Massimo, Mortanus, Hildagarde, Percieval, Josean, Zorba, Makin, Kaida, Lashus and Crixa.

"We've done well to mask our buildup...even if they grow suspicious." said Masson to his group. One of the main generals spoke about the issue.

"We've moved up the entire 5th and 8th Divisions to the border." said Crixa, the 1st Army Group Commander.

"With that in place, we'll have a approximately 25 divisions compared to their 10." said Massimo, the Army Commander.

"What is your battle plan?" Masson asked to Massimo.

"Our plan is to hit them hard and fast around Vijrundi. We'll move the 3rd Army Group and use its division double envelop the city. The 4th will bypass the city." said Massimo.

"The Sotoan Navy is planning an immediate response should we cross the border past the Neutral Zone. Our intelligence reports that the 3rd Carrier Battle Group is out there, we will move our 5th fleet to engage, and leave the third in reserve. The second fleet will push to the Ceres Osean and take Tiger Naval Base. As for the additional fleet..." interjected Hildegarde, the Navy commander.

"Our Tower will deal with them though. If I may make a suggestion, take your units to combine with the second. The Oseans closed Sand Island...so their fleet will blockade the Ceres." said Percival.

"They'll be led by the Neptune and Kestrel II Super Carriers." said Hildegarde.

"Is it confirmed?" said Masson.

"I based on the war games we preformed where we that would be the best option. I'd personally do it...if their leaders had any brains." Hildegarde replied.

"What is the status of the Dispater Tower?" said Masson, looking at Percival, Makin, and Zorba. Zorba set her wine glass down.

"Everything is ready. We have the proper range set now. But we are experimenting with a new delivery method to extend the range." said Zorba.

"How?" Masson asked.

"With ECM planes. We found we could bounce signals off their jamming with the same frequency. It effectively adds one and one half times the power. The only problem is our air forces will become a liability." said Makin, a former pilot himself.

"It is a risk I'm willing to take. But the initial air attack will have to be concluded before you fire." said Rossi.

"It is agreed. General Percival. You have permission to use the Dispater Tower at your discretion. You may engage any and all ships in the Sotoan Bay and any targets the tower can reach outside our borders." said Masson.

"Thank you sir. I won't disappoint you." Percival replied with a smile on his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen...we stand on the precipice of greatness. To this, I give you my thanks. To a successful war...life or death." said Masson, lifting his glass to his generals and they followed suit.

The die was cast for Versua. The wheels were in motion. The question was...was anyone ready for it outside the room? The answer...no. Because no one in all the countries invovled knew what the hell was going on.

**_Raven's Lake Air Base_**

**_November 12, 2016_**

**_1955 hrs_**

The idea of virtual reality combat training was not a new idea. It had been around for quite some time, but it was the Oseans who took it to another level. The simu-cockpits, often called "pods" by the NCOs who operated them, had all the same buttons and switches as most of the planes in the Osean Air Force. The F-series planes were only used because the exotic models like the Typhoon and the Gripen were rare. Those were prevalent in the former South Belka before it became its own country in 2014. The Sotans often used the J-Series planes like the Draken and the Gripen, and the Yukes, of course, used the M and S series. Now the pilots of the 373rd were doing their usual training. The pilots liked the VR simulators because most felt like they were playing a video game...plus it was less expensive than flying planes all day. The simulators were so effective, that an entire class at Air Force Academy did its combat training almost entirely on simulators. It was a safe and very effective way to simulate any condition, no matter how wild, off the wall, or just plain asinine. Lillan Izzo, knew this all too well. Izzo, a former member of the 175th, had been a F-16 maven for a young pilot until she came here. Of course, she was sent here with no love from her former squadron. They thought she was weird and disruptive; the weird part was true, but when things mattered she showed up. Unlike a certain man that was flying as her virtual wingman. If anyone was a distraction, it was Michael Sacshenronde. And Izzo was quickly realizing that truth. Once again, they failed an easy mission (at least by Lillian's standards) because Michael couldn't keep up with the details. She was sure that this Jonathan Sosabee was equally angry.

"Dammit!" Lillian Izzo yelled, throwing her VR simulator helmet to the ground. She was not a happy person. She got out of the pod and angrily walked towards Michael Sachsenronde, who was trying to get out of his Simulator Cockpit. Lillian was already tired as hell; she didn't need Michael's crap now.

"What?! I did the best I could. It wasn't easy." Michael said, trying to rationalize screwing up the mission again. This one was simulation M12A-F/DANCE. The idea was to destroy a weapons plant and its radar alert system by simultaneously destroying four different radar dishes. The entire VR set was filled with simulations of real missions done by ace pilots over the past twenty years. The problem was that Michael was screwing up the timing.

"I ran through this scenario six times with no problem. When someone says hack your watches...hack your goddamn watch! You had the timing 5 seconds off! If this were war, we'd all be dead right now!" said an angry Izzo. By now, David had climbed out of his pod and tried to calm the young woman down.

"Hey, hey...don't be too hard on him." David said. David hated having to play two identities. It was bizarre. When he was living in Dakota, it was easy. No one really cared that much. But now they were back in the life and it was quickly wearing on him to play two people.

"This was this third time Michael. You're doing the count, you should know this." Lillian said fuming now.

"I'm trying the best I can. I'm not used to these kinds of crazy mission. I was in a interceptor squadron before this. I didn't do strike missions at all. I'm still trying to get used to this." said Michael.

"Well, you better hurry up and get used to it! We're going to be doing a hell of lot if we go into combat." Alou said, scolding Michael.

"Fine." he replied. Alou shook his head.

"Okay, Emily," said Alou talking to the VR operator, "…switch for FlyingFortress1995. Weather conditions...snow, enemies...Five Su-27s, level Normal, one J35 Draken, level Ace and one Rafale M, level Ace."

"On the way." she said. The unit was quite informal. Alou never was one for strict formality. He knew this unit was an elite one.

"Okay, Jonathan, you take the night off. Michael, you're in with Lillian. Lillian will fly lead this time. And don't screw this up Michael...or we'll be here all night until we get this right."

David breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been doing these stupid VR missions for several days now. Most of them were just repetitions of stuff he'd already done when he was Blaze five years ago. To go on, he took out a picture of his late child, and realized that he had to keep pushing. Keep pushing to get back at the brigands who'd taken an innocent life from her parents...as well as a thousand others.

"How did it go?" Kei asked him.

"Terrible. This Michael guy can't fly a commercial airliner, much less a simple strike mission. But Lillian...goddamn, she can move some wings. She reminds me of a certain...someone." said David cracking a smile.

Kei smiled back. She knew who she meant; but typical Edge, maintaining her modesty.

"Mine went a little better. Andrew is annoying but...he can fly alright. Polly scares the hell out of me but she's pretty good too. It would have been better if they'd just stop telling their disgusting midnight bar stories. Ugh..." said Kei while shuttering.

"Well, we got the night off." David said.

"I spoke to Lucien. He says he wants to brief everyone about the situation overseas. Though I can take a guess as to what's going on; and it is not good." said Nagase.

"I just want to know what that thing can really do. If it really was what killed her. And how? I'm not convinced even he knows the truth." David turned angrily in the other direction, pointing out his hand towards where they left; an odd idiosyncracy he had.

"Sure...but when the last time anyone knew the entire truth about anything?" said Nagase.

David decided long ago that if he ever wanted to come back, he'd want to be what he once was. He wished that he could go back to his old callsign of Blaze and at least have some semblance of normalcy. Instead, he had to call himself Dragon, which was a nice sounding callsign...but it wasn't him. It didn't resonate who he was. David prided himself as someone who could quickly look at a situation, not panic, and get the job done. Kei prided herself as a calming influence, a person who didn't mind playing an ancillary role, and someone who could quickly analyze a situation and determine the best course of action...not to mention knowing the back-story of a situation's back-story. But now, they were living two fractured lives. And one half was more fractured than the other.

So as the prepared to retire for the evening, a world away…things weren't much different. In fact, the common people in two different countries all did the same with a mundane expectation of what the next day would bring. But that would be a mistake. No one would expect what would happen tomorrow and the world would never be the same again.

Next: Chapter 5: The Storm Over Vijrundi


	5. A Storm in Vijrundi

Author's Note: There will be a couple of Biblical references in this fic. The first of which is in this chapter. By the way, remember that the main characters use aliases. Just a reminder so you people won't be confused.

Chapter 5: A Storm in Vijrundi

"_...I think it's been four years since I left my home. I didn't understand why it happened. It just did. Our lovely Yuktobania is torn in two pieces. Now only war is here and the war won't go away. All I know is that I've been running for four years. I haven't seen my parents in four years. Four birthdays without mother or father. Every time I make a friend they die or run away. I wish something would come along and make it go away. There was someone who was older than me that would cut herself to make the pain go away. It made me sick, but she said that it made the pain go away. But now I don't know what to think anymore."- written by a Yuktobanian refugee, Sueltana Devia, on November 11, 2016_

_**Raven's Lake Air Base**_

_**November 17, 2016**_

_**2100 hrs**_

For Kei Nagase and David Lovecraft, or rather Jonathan and Ava Sosabee, it had been a long day. They had endured a day with the insane mix of classy pilots and crazy people that made up this knew Wardog Squadron. Paulo Scirro and Cormorance Alou were excellent pilots and leaders. They were both combat veterans and were Verusan born, and knew a lot about Versuan culture...something that would be helpful in social situations. Alou did have some rage issues involving his country. Then Alou's callsign was something to poke fun at. His moniker was "Artemis" because he mistook Artemis for a male god, instead of a female god and he thought the name sounded cool. Though he embraced it, he painted a rather brilliant symbol of an angelic figure on his plane with the visage of his wife, Potenza, as the centerpiece. He never talked about his home country in a positive light. In fact, he was anxious for a shooting war overseas.

Lillian was an excellent pilot but a sub-par leader. Michael and Andrew were good pilots but had no business leading anyone. Polly was a good pilot, but she was intimidating and a bit petty. She had a bush-league tendency of calling out people for every little thing, not a welcomed characteristic of a good leader (and not surprisingly it was the reason she bounced around from squadron to squadron)

They did real plane exercises, and despite everyone's problems they were done rather well. Once everyone got on the same page, it was easy to conform as a unit. They had to. There was no telling when a shooting war would start, and Jackson and his fellow officers made it clear through their harsh criticisms that instilled a sense of urgency in the group. Jackson was determined to whip the unit into shape. It was obvious that this group was going to be the go-to group for the Allied units. They'd received their planes a few days ago. Alou, Scirro, Fisch, and Saschenronde were all from counter-air squadrons. So they flew the same F-15Cs they did back in their old squadrons. Izzo and Elbe were fighter bombers pilots from North Osea, and they returned to their old F-16s. Kei and David had their choice, which was rather slim. They decided on the F/A-18F model. This was labeled Mark 60, which was the best, most advanced kind of plane of that class. In dogfights, it had competed with ninety percent of the world's aircraft. The only thing that could out fight it was an F-22, Typhoon or a YF-23, and everyone hoped to God the Versuans didn't have any of those.

But no one was sure that a war was going to happen. Jackson claimed to know, but no one trusted that he knew. So the couple retired for the evening; both thinking that the only thing they had to be concerned about was the briefing tomorrow. But a world away, things were much different. The Yukes and the rest of the Allies were living on the fine line between hope and fear. Neither really knew how things were in the land of the Yukes'. They had no idea of the strife because they never cared about war and what happened over there when they left five years ago. Not even the Yukes in Osea cared. Most of them thought the Yukes' problems were of their own making and from several standpoints, they were right. But those who did care were the ones caught up in it...like the descriptions from a lonely Yuke girl who'd lived a largely peripatetic existence for four long years because few cared. But it wasn't just the Yukes' problem. Sotoa had their hands full and things were about to implode in a way no one ever imagined. Because as both of them slept, guns were being loaded, planes were taking off, and tanks were on the move. A war machine was rolling along and nothing would stand in its way.

_**Vasio, Yuktobania**_

_**40 miles south of Vijrundi**_

_**November 17, 2010 **_

_**1200 hrs**_

For most international soldiers, Southern Yuktobania was a dreaded assignment. There was war without quarter in Gublina and an insane mix of western cultures: Aneans, Yukes, Versua, Sotan Communist supporters, and refugees from other lands. Hundreds of thousands had displaced because of this bitter civil war between anti-republic factions and the loyalist. The assassination of Prime Minister Nikanor in January 2012 sent shockwaves around the world. No longer would the east remain a relatively stable region(not counting Versua in the grand scheme of things). Now Sotoa had been dragged into a war it would gladly back out of. But the terrorist attacks of 2013 forced their hand and were forced to act as the police of the Western World. Now the Sotoans had their hands full trying to keep a resurgent Verusa and a disintegrating Yuktobania under control. So far, it looked as if things were going to get worse.

That's what drove Serena Batiste insane. It wasn't the fear of her being there; it was the fear of being there without results. And for a long while, that's what the Sotoans had. Serena was even more helpless in the air force, as she was a Gripen pilot doing nothing really to help the thousands of displaced people in the country they'd come to help. The only thing she could do was sit and wait on what the Verusans would do. That the worst part. She didn't particularly mind being patient, but she at least wanted to know what was going on. But just when they thought they were going to turn the corner, the Verusans _had_ to launch their invasion of the Neutral Zone. Morale was low, because of that helpless feeling. No one knew if anyone knew what they were doing.

She was the 198th Squadron's S-2 (intelligence), and had command of a few flights of Drakens, who did reconnaissance work, as well as the Viggens for escort, totaling 12 planes. The other half of the squadron was led by Major Akan, who was patrolling on the other side of the ridge. The squadron had been on combat air patrol duty for several weeks. It should have been close to the rotation time with the 199th group, but since the escalation of hostilities everyone was on their guard. Batiste knew that a war was coming. This place was, politically, a powder keg. The only question was...when?

Batiste was in her own Gripen some 11,000 feet above the Pele Ridge. They were getting close to the Verusan occupied territory. The line of demarcation was the narrow Virros River that split the two countries. The number of divisions and planes the Verusans had varied by division. It was rumored that the Verusans had just less half a million troops across the border. Spy flights had done nothing to change this number. In fact, it was hard to detect anything they had. Either the rumors were false and everyone was just in some kind of phony war...or they were right. If the latter were the case, the Allied Forces were in serious trouble. Sure the Oseans were sending troops, but the initial defense line was in trouble. It was essentially a patchwork once the Oseans had let it be known the Verusans were getting more aggressive. And the Sotoans were not that battle hardened. The pilots of Mercury Squadron were mostly newer ones. They weren't fresh out of the air academy, but they had never been in combat before. Rumors had it that the Verusans had many experienced pilots, something that was making Captain Batiste nervous.

Batiste was entering her 11th year in the SAF. She started out as a weapon systems officer in the Naval Air Force and became a pilot two years after that (there was no major division between Sotoan Naval Air Force and the regular Air Force). Akan was the old man in the unit, commanding at 37 with Batiste five years his junior; they were the only people above 30 in the squadron. The guys in Serena's unit were her "boys", as she affectionately called them. They were good people whom she always managed to influence with a charisma all her own. Her life and her families calm emotions depended on these young men and their lives depended on her. But what would happen soon would change all of that. All innocence would be removed.

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**Christos, Verusa **_

_**November 17, 2016**_

_**1200 hrs.**_

Gabriella Zorba was proud of the invention that she created. She'd spent so many years researching electromagnetism, meteorology and quantum science. She'd spent so much time that she'd alienated everyone around her that cared about her. Some dared to call her mad. But what she created could change the fate of weapon technology...and she couldn't wait to try it against the Oseans. She had been Belkan born and had long held the hatred of the Osean Federation in her heart. But when their plan fell apart, and the Ragzriz ruined everything, she fled. And it was Percival who found her and offered her the chance of a lifetime.

Percival had heard about her design of the X-9A before, at a arms show in 2009. Most thought it a mad creation, but Percival believed in her. Percival was in charge of building a massive weapon that would serve a symbol for Verusa, and a chance to exact revenge against the superpowers. It took her all of ten seconds to make a decision. She worked closely with a White Crow Scientist named Zerran Makin. Makin was a good mind, albeit a bit cynical at times. Between the three of them (and some help from Portia Masson), they built the tower in five years.

Percival had learned from the mistakes of the past. Every detail had to be accounted for. Even the massive energy conduit tunnels underneath the base had to have defensive measures. But it was finished. Zorba's main issues were trying to figure out the full capabilities of the X-9A. Then she realized that it had no limits. And there was more...Zorba had built lesser models as spares, but it was then discovered that they could collectively amplify the power of the central device.

And now, six years later, it was ready to stand tall and shake the doors of heaven...and sweep Verusa's enemies from the sky and the ground.

Masson had done a good job of keeping everyone off balance. He wanted no one to know the exact date of the invasion of the north to prevent leaks to the Allies. They'd secretly built up a massive invasion army and were now poised to invade and take the resource rich Eastern parts of Yuktobania.

Percival couldn't be prouder of this moment. He felt he stood alone on what Masson called "the precipice of greatness". In his grasp, he had the controls to the greatest weapon the world had ever seen and he dared his enemies to challenge it. Inside the main control room of the Dispater was General Percival, a few lesser staff officers, Zorba and Makin, as well as the technicians and NCOs who operated the station

"So, what do we have?" said Percival. One of the officers showed him a digital map of the area.

"We've got several isolated Sotoan divisions outside of Vasio and Berekon. Usual CAP patrol. The Yukes have defensive lines just outside of Vijrundi." said the officer.

"General Morales reports that all divisions are in position and are poised to race across the border whenever the signal when given the green light." said another officer. Percival nodded.

"Have them go to stand by until the first charges are concluded. Then he may move freely once the air force has sanitized the skies over Vasio. We don't want our guys caught up in what this tower's going to do those poor Sotoans." said Percival with a smile on his face.

"Sure thing." said the officer. They never tried to be formal at the station. Percival was not the biggest fan of formality in elite groups. Percival may have been a ruthless man, but he never treated his own people poorly.

"Air Squadrons are moving north as planned. They'll hit the main line of resistance in 40 minutes. Mid-Air refueling in progress. EMP jamming will shut down in five minutes." said another operator. Suddenly a

"White Knight One, this is Ivory Tower, do you copy?" White Knight One was a specially modified EA-6B with one of the X-9A Driver modules built into the plane. Its job was to bounce electromagnetic signals off the X-9A they had to extend the deadly range of the Dispater Tower.

"Roger, Ivory Tower." said the plane.

"Prepare to receive signal upon incursion into the enemy airspace." said Percival.

"Roger, broadcasting jamming frequency. Allied craft are 200 miles and closing." said the pilot. After a long pause, Percival turned to Zorba. Zorba frowned.

"You know...I feel bad for the air force. We're taking their free kills away." Zorba said.

"Mephisto is in the mix, they'll get plenty enough." said Percival.

"Don't worry. Nothing's going to attack us yet. They won't get a chance." Makin said.

"Is your son involved in the attack?" said Percival asking Makin about Zerran Makin Jr., who was also in the Air Force.

"Not yet; Master Kaida and my son are trying to get approval from Rossi to join the Elite Air group. He'll no doubt accept. They'll be in the next wave." said Makin. Makin cracked a rare smile. Makin was always disagreeing with every idea saying that it was too risky or something of that nature.

"I'll give him a recommendation." said Percival, recalling his own Air Force experience. Percival was once a pilot for a time, and still flew on occasion.

"Naval frequency modified. We have confirmation of several enemy ships in the Bay. Pre-programming trajectories to the Auxiliary transmitter. They'll hit at the same time." said one of the naval adjutants who was attending this occasion. The Dispater couldn't fire until the codeword was given over the secure networks. That would indicate the war was on. They'd been waiting for days...months even. But after a rather long wait...

"We have confirmation. Codeword Angelo. I repeat, all units, Code Angelo. We are go for Dispater Activation." said one of the officers there.

"The preparation is all. The action is now." said Percival, clasping his hands.

"Should we go for wildcat burst...or a straight attack?" asked the operator. He was referring to the types of the Dispater's energy deployment in an offensive sense. There were many more than that...for example, there were Shield, Starburst, Downburst, and Concentrated Blast.

"I've always wondered what a wildcat burst would do an enemy plane formation..." Percival said while smiling.

_**Vasio, Yuktobania**_

_**40 miles south of Vijrundi**_

_**November 17, 2010 **_

_**1206 hrs**_

Batiste gently ran her fingers over that precious picture she had on the front panel. It was a relatively new one, taken just before she deployed out. It was a picture of her husband Stephen, her two sons Mattias and Kiros, her mother, her father, and her dear brother Jacques, who was in the air force as well. She always kept them in her heart. They weren't the reason she became a pilot, but they were the reason she _stayed_ a pilot. She wanted to protect them, and they didn't allow women in the regular army so...

"Bishop One to all planes...we've got bogeys at 010, 200 miles. A whole lot of them...coming straight for us." said Major Akan.

"I've got targets." said another plane.

"They haven't increased their speed. Is this some kind of decoy...or a training mission?" said Batiste.

"Hold position. No sign of any hostile intention." said Akan.

"Command wants visual identification before any action is taken. Mercury 3, take 5 and 6 to the left, Mercury 4, you and the rest will stay with me, 7 and 8 will stay in the trail. Everyone else, spread to defensive formation." said Batiste, sending the nuggets to the rear.

The planes began to spread out by flight to form a sort of "gun line" to engage enemy planes with BVR tactics. But there was nothing there. There was only a dead silence and a mysterious feeling out on the horizon. This was standard operation procedure for this type of event, and the squadron had done this several times. So there would be no surprises if this were yet another enemy red herring.

"Something's strange...I'm getting high concentration of targets...that can't be right." said Mercury 9.

"Jammer craft." guessed Batiste.

"Wait...there's a lot of strange radar interference. It's...this is bizarre. I've never anything like this."

"Bishop One to Brigadier Central," started Akan talking to the command room, "Are your scopes picking this up?"

"Roger Bishop One, we've got multiple radar anomalies at 12:00. Central Command has issued a direct order not to cross the border unless hostile intention is shown." said HQ.

"Roger." Akan.

"Damn rules of engagement." said a sullen Willen, Akan's wingman. Willen was the most vocal complainer in the unit, angry because he hadn't seen any action in his five years of service. Then, it all started to come apart.

"Wait...I've got intensification in radar anomalies!" said Willen.

"Radar alert! Something's got me locked up!" said Mercury 14.

"I'm getting all kinds of IR signals...my panel's going crazy!" said Mercury 17.

"I have no SA, my radar's gone out!" said Batiste, noticing that her radar had gone completely dead.

What Batiste saw next...mystified her to no end. She looked up and at the horizon. It happened so fast she barely saw it, but the results were obvious after the fact. The air in front the squadrons began to warp almost. Then, there was a huge, almost violet colored series of streaks all across the sky in front of them. Streaks that almost looked frighteningly _electrical_...

"What the...?" said Akan. It would be his last words. Because the sky just erupted in purple streaks of lighting. With that action, plane after plane was destroyed. No one that was struck even had a chance to eject...much less say anything. Batiste saw beams of death coming for her plane, but somehow...somewhat...she avoided it. It waltzed right past her wing, but it was cutting it close. Too close. As Batiste righted her airplane, there was nothing but black, smoking, rapidly falling hulks of what used to be airplanes.

"What the _fuck_ was..._that_? Where did..." Batiste said in total shock. Her voice was almost breathless. In a single action...she was the only plane remaining in the air. In her life, Serena Batiste never had the feeling of being totally alone. That changed now. She never felt more alone.

"Brigadier Central this is Mercury 2. Did you see that on your scopes...the whole squadron's gone!"

"We've seen it...wait...we've got multiple enemy planes on radar! They're heading straight for our base!"

But Mercury 2 didn't have to be told that. She saw them plunging towards her at high speed. Batiste's heart became rather icy...

Meanwhile...

There were some 100 planes in the outfit. Commander Baraka Molina had been given the honor of leading the attack on what the Verusans called their "march to glory". Molina had his squadron with him, all eight planes of the infamous Mephisto squadron. Backing him up were the other planes of Elite Air Arm, six squadrons of battle hardened pilots. They were Hecate, Bel, Diabolos, Luna -Pharon, and Rahab. They were led by legends of the old war, Adon Mora, Sodel Josen, Cale Morala, Gevin Malles, Valen Yancing, and Dorian Daydenko. They were a Who's Who list of aces; they were national heroes all.

"What the hell?" said Barus, Mephisto 4.

"So that's the new electromagnetic weapon the brass was talking about." said Xalia.

"But how did they...nevermind. Let's get a move on." Molina said, getting back to the mission at hand. They had an air base to destroy.

"There's only one plane left though." said Alex.

"No doubt bewildered... Mephisto 2, Fox 3." said Xalia.

The one thing Molina loved about Xalia was that she wasn't afraid to be aggressive. She did everything in a rapid, well-executed manner. She was the kind of woman who always knew what she was getting into and knew exactly what to do.

At the same time, another woman was totally confused. In a manner of a few seconds, she'd witnessed the destruction of her entire squadron; a small part of a generation of airmen was gone. She heard the radar missile alert and quickly moved nose low, releasing chaff in the process. As she tried desperately to get lower, she felt a large vibration against her back. She was obviously hit. She looked towards her rear to see if she could visually identify the damage. She was smoking from her left wing and some from the right. But she could still keep the aircraft in flight. But considering the sheer amount of targets she was up against, conventional wisdom would have been to just eject and avoid a second missile. But Batiste was not conventional. She was angry and bloodied. She wanted to get these Versuans badly, but there was no telling what the situation was like on the ground. Considering the air cover, the chances of a rescue chopper reaching her were slim.

So Batiste did something she was taught years ago. She faked a descent to try and trick the attackers into thinking she was heading for the ground. Amazingly, it worked! The enemies bypassed her! But, then again, it was a lose-lose situation. With no squadron in the air, the airbase at Odessa Zero One was in serious trouble. She was at Angels 3 now. She turned and saw contrail after contrail of enemy planes. It was insane. It was clear the Versuans were invading now, but it seemed they were not content on a simple one. Just from this sight alone, it appeared the Versuans were throwing the kitchen sink at the allies. Serena felt sick. She knew that death could be around the corner.

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**Christos, Verusa **_

_**November 17, 2016**_

_**1214 hrs.**_

Everyone was in total, unequaled joy. The dress rehearsal had worked beautifully. The day of the invasion, it was impeccable. The Allied Air Defense line had swept into nothingness. But it wasn't over yet. The air attack was on its way. Soon they'd be plunging into the hearts of the allies.

"A complete wipeout. 78 planes without a single friendly loss. Impressive." said Makin. Makin was a cynic by nature...but even he was impressed with this.

"The aircraft are moving into Odessa Zero One air space." said one of the panel operators.

"Allied aircraft launching." said another.

"Leave the planes to our own. Let's see what our weapon will do against that entire facility. White Knight One, this is Ivory Tower." said Percival.

"Go ahead. Ivory Tower." said White Knight One.

"Change of orders. Move to sector 3 at vector 12, sixty miles." said Percival.

"We'll be in firing range in ten minutes." said White Knight One.

"White Knight Two. Report status." asked Percival.

"Attack at 100 percent. No resistance along our line. Continuing with operation." said White Knight Two.

"Codeword Lucy as been issued." said one of the officers there. "Lucy" indicated the ground forces to begin crossing the border. By now, the artificial bridges were constructed. The only matter was laying them across the river and charging in with the tanks and mechanized infantry.

"Ground forces are already on the move in all sectors." corrected another officer. Percival smiled devilishly.

"This is easier than taking candy from a _dead_ baby." he said, grinning ear to ear.

Meanwhile...

Serena was still nursing her wounded airplane through the valleys of this remote place. She cursed the entire way, angry at herself for not being able to save those men. Most of them weren't married, but a few were. There would be a double dozen of empty, sad households when this ended. Akan, Charlie, Sephe, Franco...all gone in a flash of...electrical stuff. She wasn't sure if that was lighting or some kind of supernatural phenomenon. But, that had indicated that the Allies were in _serious_ trouble either way. She kept frantically trying to communicate with headquarters. Finally she got through.

"Any callsign on this net, respond!" said the voice over the radio. From the sound the voice, it was HQ's operators trying desperately to contact any friendly unit. Serena could only guess how bad it was.

"This is Mercury Two...what's going on!?" she said.

"We're under attack by Versuan Air...We've got..."

"I am aware!" an angry Serena, cutting off the operator. She realized that may have been a bit harsh and unprofessional, but she was emotional and confused at the moment. She breathed to try to gain control of herself.

"We've no contacts along our defensive line. Our...troops are on Code Red Alert. What...what is your status?" said HQ.

"I'm a bit banged up and my telemetry, radar and guidance are all out. I'm trying to follow the main road back." said Serena.

"You're the only unit we've been able to contact...hold on! We've got an enemy attack in our region! There are planes all over the radar! We're launching in defense. Can you make it to Bava Zero One?" the HQ operator said. Bava Zero One being Vijrundi's main air base itself. Serena shook her head. Perhaps she didn't clearly communicate how bad the damage was. It was manageable, but she'd be hard pressed to get there on her broken wings.

"I don't know if it'll hold up that far! But I'll try!" Serena said.

Serena knew things were getting bad...very fast. Whatever that attack was that destroyed an entire squadron of good men...it was surely something that could be used again. She tried to hold back a tear or two. There was no time for sadness. People, military and civilian, were in grave danger.

In reality, people were dying already. The initial squadrons that were in the air were wiped out. Nearly 80 of Sotoan's 200 plane air deployment had already been lost in one shot. There was just no contest. The tops of the ace food chain, Mephisto and Diablos, had Su-37s and Su-47s in respective order. They were getting multiple kills in passes. It wasn't that the Allied units were not skilled, it just that the civil war had taken its toll on the Yuke Air Force. Sotoans hadn't been in a war since they joined ISAF in 2005. The Versuans had twelve years of fighting experience. And for the most part, they were much more ruthless and aggressive than their northern counterparts. Only Serena Baptiste had been lucky enough to be the beneficiary of any mercy from the Versuan Air Force. Everyone else was blasted from the sky in fierce mostly one-sided battles.

Then there was the disparity in aircraft. The Allies in the area didn't last long against the super-advanced planes piloted by the aces. Gevin Melles' ace squadron, Luna, consisted of the younger aces; they were the lesser elites and they were sporting _Su-35s_. As of the moment, they were massacring the Yuke's 154th Squadron, consisting mostly of _Mig-21s_.

It was even worse than what the Belkans did the Ustios during the Belkan War. They were facing a larger, more skilled air force and just sweeping them from the sky. There were some losses on the Verusan side. Two planes from Pharon were lost to AA and one brave Yuke pilot who dared to challenge the might of Pharon. He was swiftly dealt with. In fact, there were precious few who had any success against the attacking forces.

There were people like Quara Quaramine, of the 354th, who managed to get three regular planes out of the fight, plus one from Cruso Squadron. He wasn't easily handled though. He was a veteran of the war with Osea and was quite familiar with air to air combat. There was the young Francis Marele, who was once of the Mercury Squadron but was -transferred to Jupiter. Desmond Le Saint, who was of Mars Squadron who'd managed four kills. Then there was Ran Kazai, who downed one from Bel.

Then again, there was the _late_ Ran Kazai who was stiff-armed by Mephisto One in a rather skilled fashion. Then there was Alexis Pederov, the only other female pilot fighting in the region, much less the Yukes, who'd managed to take a few of her own. But it seemed irrelevant now. There were many battles being fought around the Southern Yuktobanian region; many losing battles. To Mephisto Squadron, it was all too easy. Molina was stunned at how easy it was. The enemy was putting up a fight, but it didn't seem that way from the outside. But Alex though...he was like a kid in a candy store. Molina had issued a general engage order, meaning that wingman would split up by flight to engage the split and struggling allied units. If they kept this up, they wouldn't need to bomb the airbases. Anti air defense wasn't a problem. Skull Squadron's F-4s were dealing with them. With no air cover to stop the fighter bombers, Skull removed the threat from the ground.

Alex may have been getting to aggressive. He was even shooting at parachutes. Alex was a young man like many, but Alex was a very aggressive pilot who always went for the jugular in every fight. He almost killed another pilot in a training mission. He was mystified that Xalia didn't go after the downed plane when it was vulnerable, but they had a mission...

Serena was getting dangerously close to the battle zone. Odessa Zero One was about forty miles to her left as she tried to head north with no guidance but the road below. She looked to her left. Then she saw something strange; something familiar. There were those purple lighting streaks again. But this time it was in the general area of the HQ! Then it happened; the streaks just became large columns of lighting that just caused all kinds of havoc in the distance. She saw a few explosions, but that was it. Serena just _knew_ that this war was going to be a losing cause. IF the enemy had a weapon like that...what could compete with it?

_**Raven's Lake Air Base**_

_**November 17, 2016**_

_**0400 hrs**_

Kei wanted her husband to hold her. She wanted something, anything to take her mind off the pain. But despite having someone who shared the same pain she felt, it was a relief to merely have her beloved there. She found that she could always be honest with Blaze because she cared about him immensely; ever since the time she met him for the first time. She believed in him long before he even truly cared about her. He just had...it. She couldn't explain it. He had a natural ability to take over a situation and make it his own. He could light up a room and take charge of a situation without much effort. He could do things he hated to do but do them anyway...with no fear in his heart. She never forgot that about him. And even now, so long after they were Blaze and Edge, he'd kept a piece of his old self. He'd hidden it away in the dark recesses of his mind just in case he would need them again. When they were alone hatred filled their hearts; hatred of an enemy that used their vacation as a test for some super weapon. Everyone had limited knowledge of the weapon, but no one really knew what it was capable of. And no one really cared at the moment. They were all exhausted from a day of constant flying and briefings. Kei was less exhausted from waking up at three in the morning when Catherine was a baby. But now, there was only a dream world to worry about. Her head was lying across the chest of her beloved husband, his slow measured heartbeat playing a gentle cradle's song.

As for David himself, he didn't forget how to fly. He did not forget a lot of things. He never forgot his mother, the only other woman he ever loved. It was a tragic shame she never got to see him when he was at his best. David never forgot about Chopper either. Chopper got on his nerves, but in that guy was a lot of things that David saw himself…except that stupid "Face of the Coin" song. He hated rock and only sung it once (and butchered it horribly) when they pulled Kei out of that frozen hell of Gublina, Yuktobania five years ago. But he remembered one more thing...and it was something utterly scary. He remembered how his enemies, the Belkans, felt; all that hatred in their hearts. Though, that was self-inflicted considering the seven nukes. But David's anger was placed at the Versuans. When he mentioned it to Alou, he was met with approval for none hated the Versuans more than the Verusan born Cormorance Alou.

But, there was always Kei Nagase. He never forgot how it felt when she touched him for the first time as friends. Her silk hands were like a gentle wind across his face. Her hands were icy cold, but it didn't matter. It was the fact she was even _touching_ him. It was like Heaven. He never forgot the first time he embraced her, after her rescue from that frozen forest. Her body felt warm and calming. She was a sense of serenity and love wrapped in the warm shell of soft flesh. Until then, he never realized how she felt about him. The feeling was mutual. He never forgot the first time he kissed her. Actually though, it was the other way around. It was that mission when he took off alone for that spy mission in Belka. He remembered the tear, the one he felt as she simply took her own initiative and pressed her lips against his own. He remembered the odd thing he did; with his finger, he took from his face the saline fluid that was from the tear glands of the woman he loved...and tasted it. And it actually tasted pleasant. It was like tasting her soul. He remembered the last thing she said to him before he left.

_Don't die on me. Come back to me. There's so much I want for us._

Those words, simple and to the point...were not like her. But it was clear. All she felt about him was summed up in those eight words. Nagase had great ability and was strong, smart, honest, articulate, analytical, and she thought with her heart as well as head. It was clear from all this that she was only woman he could ever love and he'd rather die a thousand deaths than see her pass away. It was just the way he felt about Catherine. But he'd failed to protect her. And she would never understand why he was doing this for her. She'd never understand why her parents were selling out everything they believed in to find out the truth. David's only regret was that he couldn't be Blaze in order to do it. The doubt about it was removed whenever he thought about Kei's tear filled visage after they'd learned the news. But he didn't want to think about that now.

He remembered that he just loved being next to her. It didn't even have to be physical love; just being near her was almost therapeutic. While it wasn't perfect, they had problems like any married couple; they were equally focused and committed to staying true to each other...even if they had to sell out. He didn't realize it in his slumber, but he was stroking the silky strands of her long hair. Both needed something to occupy their minds other than grief and anger. But that was impossible given the world they lived in.

Suddenly, Paulo Scirro entered the room. Scirro could be Cormorance Alou's older brother with his looks. He had an intense charismatic presence. They called him Zealot because of his constant workman like approach to squadron life. He cut on the light, and David's eyes burned with the light on him.

"Oh, you're up. But why is...?" said Paulo seeing the emerging Ava from beneath the bed sheets. She didn't look all that happy to see Paulo.

"Huh?" They both struggled to get out. Paulo slapped his head.

"Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting you two are married. Silly me." he said.

"What is it?" asked David.

"We've got problems. The Verusans have invaded Yuktobania. They've taken Vijrundi. We've got orders to deploy to Murska Air Base, then something called...Bethlehem Zero One or something. Come on, get dressed, we got to go." said Scirro tossing David his shirt he'd tossed on a chair.

"Uh...please tell me your joking. How did they...?" Nagase, barely conscious.

"Oh, it's the real deal now. We're going to damn war. The base is in uproar. Hotlines are going off the hook. Everyone's mobilizing. We got hit with a declaration with war too, their coming after us now." said Scirro.

"How bad is it?" David asked.

"Pretty damn bad. The Versuans are pushing north. We've got to get organized as fast as possible." Scirro replied, pacing about the room. Kei was trying to put her clothes back on and ask questions at the same time.

"But we don't have the entire ordinance yet and..." trying to shove her leg into a pant leg.

"I don't know...but we're going into a real mess over there. The Allied Air Squadrons are in a total panic. They've been reduced to about twenty percent effective strength. It's insane. Whole units were wiped out with some kind of electrical storm or something. The Yuke ground troops were routed without air support. Everyone's retreated to some city called Royelle. If that falls, the Dresdene goes...then its game over."

"It's that bad? My goodness." said David.

David knew that a war was imminent, but he never believed Jackson's words. Now all doubt had been removed. For a time, everyone in the Osean Military was filled with the cold rush of dread.

_Today, the men from the south came to my town. They were blowing everything up and shooting. And everybody ran. I ran too, even though I'm tired of running. They'd taken back a place that was once their land, at least that's what the adults say. But now, they've come to us. They want it all now. All I hear are explosions. The allies are afraid. I felt this way back in my home town four years ago. Nothing's changed. I'm tired of running, but I can't stop...not now, not ever. - Sueltana Devia_

Next: Bethlehem Zero One


	6. Bethlehem Zero One

I made a chapter name change because I was going to use the "Siege" tag for another chapter.

Chapter 6: Bethlehem Zero One

_You can always tell who the most elite pilots in the world are. The elite almost never tell any stories about their experiences. Their experiences speak for them. They let others tell the stories. - Quara Quaramine_

On November 17, 2016, everyone in Osea awoke to the same dreaded message: _War!_ At approximately midnight at Oured Time, the Osean Federation was officially at war with the White Crow Regime of Versua. Of course, it wasn't just Osea. It was the Sotoan Kingdom, the Yutobanian Republic (what was left of it) that had been plunged into this war. With the White Crow in charge of the entire Versuan continent, there were plenty of resources to fall back on. Now all the dominoes that had actually taken over 21 years to set up...began to fall at once.

President Cohen was furious. To send a declaration of war after their initial offensive was nothing less than insulting. She called a meeting of all the top generals, Joint Chiefs, and elements of Section Seven (sans Lucien Jackson, who would be a little more "hands-on" with his Section Seven responsibilities). The offensive could not have come at a worse time for the Oseans. Their overseas "peacekeeping" forces were still consolidating their positions, but now they had to move up to assist the allied forces. The Osean's 143rd Squadron and the 818th Squadrons had been sent there as well. But a horrible series of freezing rain storms on the Osean West Coast put an immediate reaction on ice. Now three days had past, and Osea was scrambling to mount their response. It would have terrible consequences.

The situation in Southern Yuktobania was extremely problematic, to be kind. Allied units were being pushed back past Lake Daba after Vijrundi fell. But, the Versuans called an operational pause on the third day, as their units were stretched out to the limit. But the damage had been done. The 200 planes of the 5th Rapid Deployment Air Group, had been reduced to pathetic twenty-seven at best. The 345 planes the Yukes had fared slightly better, only being ground down to about 150. The Oseans didn't fare much better either. They were able to avoid the strange lighting attacks, but were cut down by the rather large collection top shelf aces of the VAF, which had been called up to counter the Osean's move. The Allies had inflicted their share of damage, but it was more "damage control" rather than effective fighting. It just seemed irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

Most of the bases the Allies had set up had been destroyed. Odessa, Bava, Cairo, Suzuka, and Chepe were all gone. Most of them were destroyed by that strange lighting phenomenon. The Allies quickly figured out that it was some kind of weapon that was doing the damage. After all, there were no storm clouds. And the damage done by the strokes of purplish death were much, much more than lightning could do. To make matters worse, there was no clear way to stop it. The only thing a pilot could do was to be able to detect abnormal shifts in the radar. And rather adept pilot could do that and react accordingly. But most of them were lost to the planes. The Verusans had some quality pilots in the number. The Allies did as well, but they were few and far between. The ones who'd survived had either been lucky or were good enough to survive long enough.

Serena Batiste was lucky enough to live this long. So was Francis Marele, Desmond Le Saint, Alexis Pederov, Martin Ronde, Quara Quaramine, and Christopher Haas. They were the only pilots of significance left of the original defenders of the Vijrundi area. They were also the only ranking officers left. Whole HQ sections had been wiped out. Command was in total disarray. The Oseans had started the next day, and the two squadrons (Vega and Viper Squadrons), had taken heavy hits from those "Red Devils", those mysterious collection of red Su-37s. They simply changed the battle field entirely. It was if the Allies were fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

Serena stopped referring to herself as Mercury 2. There was no point to continue using that call sign. For all intents and purposes, Mercury Squadron didn't exist anymore. Treya was her middle name and that's what she used to refer to herself now. After all, she was a unique, skilled pilot in a brief window of time when so few were still alive. As far as the desperate Allies around her, she earned it. She was currently at a place called Bethlehem Two Zero, which was just yet another stretch of highway. Her Gripen had taken all kinds of damage over the last few days, and had hastily patched up. There were plenty of mixed-up units from all over the place. The remnants of the air defense forces were no clinging to a thread now. The amalgam of different squadrons, nationalities, and planes was a indicator of how one-sided this campaign had been. There were left-over Sotoans from their devastated air wing, Yukes from the North, and parts of the Osean squadrons who took it on the chin as well. At least they had some leadership. Leading the Allied squadron was a Colonel Taylor Moore, aka "Red Crown", as well as a Lt. Colonel Kendrick known as "Archon". Moore's men took a thorough beating from those "Red Devils". It was assumed the Oseans were more skilled...but they quickly learned they weren't even close.

The only bases left were Damascus and Bethlehem, and they protected the cities of Duga and Royelle respectively. These bases were not formal bases but they were just stretches of highway. Bethlehem was right in front of Royelle, a strategically important city because it had all the main highways leading into and out of it. The only thing the Allies had in their favor was the terrain. But they wondered about that mysterious weapon which had savaged them for three days. Of course, they didn't know that they were out of its range all together..but the fear was there.

The Versuans had not made any crucial tactical errors thus far. They'd fought their battles well. Now the Allies would have to fight a brutal, fierce battle of its own to force back a veteran-led, battle-hardened enemy.

_**Over The Bastok Peninsula**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0700 hrs**_

As for the 373rd, once the weather cleared they were finally able to move west into this chaotic situation. At least they came with more knowledge. Lucien Jackson, the acting leader of the group, was subjecting the group to many of. David remembered the words of that rather cryptic man. For such a long-winded person, he actually made himself rather clear.

_As you are aware, we are at war with the nation of Versua. I know most of you aren't familiar with this country's history. There's been a lot of confusing political jargon and talk...forget all that. Now, all of you were handpicked for this detachment; but for the most part, you've all been wondering why. You were selected for the purpose of providing support...some much needed support in the inevitable air war overseas. The situation is not grim, but closer to desperate. The Allies are barely hanging on. The enemy is attempting to seize Royelle and Duga. Duga can be written off, but if Royelle falls, we're in dire straits. They'll have a straight route for the Bastok and if we lose control of the ports there...it's game over. The Allied Air defense is weak and the Veusans are battle hardened men on the ground and in the air. This won't be easy at all. _

They had been flying for hours, and it was clear that the battle situation could be wholly different by the time they got there. With everyone in their usual planes, there was Lucien Jackson flying an old F-4G in stark contrast to the more advanced airplanes in the squad. But it wasn't the usual dark green model. It was a blueish, gray color.

Everyone's planes were similar. The only differences were the individual markings each plane had. During the delay of freezing rain, everyone took the time to paint distinctive figures on his or her plane. Andrew Fisch was Wardog 5, "Jacks", and had a hand of cards painted on to the side of his fighter. Wardog 6, the "Harpy" named Polly Elbe, had a weird demonic figure painted on her plane. Of course, the "Spider" Lillian Izzo, had a black widow on her own. The understated "Zealot", Paulo Scirro, did not sport anything different on his plane. And oddly, the showboat "Icarus", Michael Ronde (they called him Ronde for short), also did not sport any different paint.

They were all waiting one at a time to finish yet another mid-air refueling. They'd kept themselves busy with stories and singing; although some of the stories were a bit...lewd. The last thing a certain married couple needed to hear was "Jacks" talk about his adventures in some club near a November City meat packing plant where black clothes are worn and whips and chains were socially acceptable. Of course Polly had almost nothing interesting to say unless it involved alcohol. Polly actually challenged Kei days ago to see who could do the most shots in an hour. Of course, Kei didn't drink because apart from actually having a life outside of the bar, she just didn't want to wake up in an alley at 2:45 AM.

David saw Nagase finish her refueling and move out of the way. She had elected not to put anything on her plane, even though her callsign was no longer "Edge" but "Medusa". It wasn't selected by choice. It was part of the alias. As far as they were concerned the other aliases, the Black Couple, were dead from the cruise liner disaster. Behind David was Cormorance Alou, "Artemis", who was holding steady. David was concerned though. Alou had admitted that he was looking forward to the war. He only made his feelings even more obvious now.

"I can't wait to get over there. I'm looking forward to kicking the Verusans in the face and serving them some humble pie...as some would say." said Alou over the radio.

"You seem quite anxious to fight for someone who's been there before." replied Nagase.

"There was no passion for the last war. It was a war that didn't need to be fought. But this one...oh baby. I've wanted to repay that so-called united country for nineteen years." said Alou.

"I take it you have issues with Versua?" said Nagase.

"Apart from the fact we have to fight them in a war they started? Apart from the days I had to eat bugs in the desert to survive as a kid. Apart from all this weaponry they have, but their leaders will not drop a goddamn dime in the mouths of the mostly starving population or money in the hands of the poor?! Yes, I do! Does that answer your question?" said Cormorance with a stinging tone.

Cormorance had already made his feelings on Versua rather clear earlier after the briefing.

_Versua? I never wanted to go back there...and now they just had to start a war. I hate that country and all it stands for. I'm from there and I loathe that place. __**This**__...this county, this city, this airfield...__**this **__land is my home now._

David could sense the scowl on his wife's face then. Of course, Nagase couldn't throw stones anymore...she'd be a complete hypocrite then. David could clearly see her shake her head in her cockpit.

"Wardog 4, refueling complete...Wardog 3, move into position." the refueling plane said.

_But that wasn't the main reason you were put together. That's all ancillary. This unit was assembled to combat the super-advanced weaponry Versua has to offer. When I mean super-advanced weaponry...I'm referring to this piece of machinery._

"Wardog 3, maintain speed. 300 yards to go." said the boom operator on the refueling plane.

_Normally, this would be classified information, but since we've received reports that the Versuans are already using this weapon against Allied units...there's no point in it being secret anymore. This devise is the X-9A Electromagnetic Mass Capacitor was developed by Grunder Industries in 2007 originally as a defensive weapon. It was a generator capable of manipulating the atomic particles of the airborne agents into superheated electricity that can be manipulated by the use of certain electronic signals._

The fueling probe finally detached and David was away. At this point, David would have given anything to hear Chopper's voice again..just for some laughs. He didn't want to hear Lucien's voice again; however, try as he might...

_They've weaponized it in a matter that we have not quite ascertained yet. But we do know this; they've built additional modules attached to aircraft which transmit signals from a central source. We've detected alternating powerful electronic signals in the Southwestern area of Versua. We've tried several spy flights, but all the planes we've sent have disappeared over the Christos region. Naval interdiction is next to impossible. The Sotoans had already tried, and we've learned today that their entire 5__th__ Fleet was destroyed much in the same manner that the targets in South Yuktobania were attacked._

David cringed when he heard that news. It was bad enough that this weapon was devastating forces in Yuktobania, but at sea? Then it hit him. He realized that cruise ship they were on was merely practice. David became angry. His old soul once called Blaze filled him hate. It was strange because up until now, rage didn't drive him in anything. There was no reason to. There was only the feeling of necessity. It was a feeling that told him what had to be done rather than what he wanted to do. For the first time in his life, he was doing something totally for selfish reasons. It only rage filled David's soul, then the normally tranquil Kei Nagase was filled with overpowering rage. She didn't openly show it; something she was doing quite a good job of doing. But the rage was there. The thought of "practice" on their vacation was not lost on the old soul of Edge.

"Refueling complete. Good luck, Wardog 3." said the refueling crew.

"Roger, thanks for the gas." said David, backing away and yawing his airplane to the left.

...at least David never forgot to thank the refueling plane crew. The funny thing was that this was the biggest single unit that David ever intentionally traveled with on the way a mission. Sudentor didn't count because they were not expecting the allies to show up.

_Our objective is to now support the allied effort to drive the Versuans out of the Yukes home. Operationally, it's a mess over there. Allied units are all mixed up and the Versuans are pushing. We've got to hit them hard and fast. We've got to shatter their high morale. But we've got to do everything we can to help hold the line so the bulk of our army can mobilize and we can conduct a counter offensive. Make no mistake; we're going to be working with limited support over there. We're just going to have to make do with what we've got. But we've got to hold as long as possible. After the initial phase is complete, we can begin focus on their weaponry. But one thing at a time..._

David thought a lot about his other wingman. Snow was still in the Naval Air Force, operating off the carrier OFS Neptune. The only reason he was still in was because he was not with the original group and thus no link could be traced between him and the Razgriz. Grimm had no reason to go back either. He had a lot to live for, or at least that's what Jackson said about him. However, Grimm would no doubt be touched by this war anyway. After all, the woman he was seeing was part of a medical battalion and was no doubt on her way into this chaos.

As they all flew together, they looked like a whole unit. But in reality, the 373rd were an amalgam; a disjointed unit of combat capable pilots. It wasn't really much different from the allied units at Bethlehem Two Zero. But whatever the pilots felt, no one knew exactly what they would find there.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0700 hrs**_

Everyone in Versua was ecstatic at the rapid success of the attacks. None more so than the commanders whose battle plans were proven successful. As for people like Baraka Molina, he took more pride in the fact that he didn't lose a single wingman in the attack. It seemed moot given the lack of Allied capability to stop the attack and the abilites of the people in Mephisto squad. Most of the friendly forces were already toasting to victory. But Molina was wise enough not to celebrate early. He even had to reprimand Alex Haari for breaking out the champagne a little too early. The bulk of the Allied response had yet to be broken as the Oseans were now scrambling to bring their full force to bear.

The bulk of the Elite Air Arm was focused in and around the Vastos region. Vastos had always been a resort town and it was a fitting place for the elite of Versua's air squadrons. The air war had been pathetically one sided. There were the Allies who'd fought hard and brave, and most of them were subsequently shot down. But a few remained and they'd been giving the regular squadrons hell. So it was that Baraka Molina, Xalia Masson, Zerran Makin Jr., and Eldrich Morton were sitting around waiting for the chance to return to action. They'd been out nearly ten times in the past few days and despite obvious fatigue, adrenaline was still pumping overtime. Their base was a conventional one, in stark contrast to the ones' the Allies had. The countryside was beautiful.

Their conversation at the time was broken up the approach of a pair of helicopters onto the airfield. The first landed, and out came a group of black clad men. They looked like pilots and there were six of them. Then, a black clad officer looking individual stepped out of the helicopter, a heavily decorated one at that. But he wasn't an ancient; he looked about fortyish as far as Xalia could tell. But this was unusual. The typical clothing for the army was olive or tan.

"That's strange." said Morton, looking at a suspicious man. "Look at him."

"Who is that? I've never seen him before." Xalia said. She'd certainly met a lot of people in the government. But she'd never seen these black clad men before.

"Even all the government figures you met and he slips past you?" said Molina.

"Wait...oh. Now I remember. He looked different then." said Makin. Makin was only here because he was a reserve pilot. But Makin liked the way Molina treated the people under his tutelage. He wasn't a control freak or a man obsessed with details. He was only a man who required that the job be done and that was it.

"What?" Molina asked.

"Dimitri Ignis, head of the special projects division." said Makin. Makin may have been a young pilot, but his father was one of the special projects officials. The interesting thing was that the special projects division and the Tower Division were two separate, but equal divisions. His father had worked with both groups and had met Ignis once. Ignis was another younger, more aggressive High Command official...just like Praeten Percival.

"Head of the special projects? Oh, that's right. General Percival used to their head before he was reassigned." said Xalia.

"I thought he was with the old Orchid units." said Morton. Morton was an "old-timer" like Molina, a White Crow party member for many years in its young life. Of course Morton and Molina would know about the Orchid units.

"Really?" Xalia said.

"Orchid? What's that?" Makin said.

"No one really knows; there are rumors, of course. But I can't discuss them...I'm not a man for rumors. The only thing I know is this: they used to be called Orchid. But they go by a different name now. But the symbol is the same. But that's all I know." said Molina.

"Understood sir." said Makin. Everyone then observed the second helicopter land and out of it came a familiar pair of figures with a few armed men. They were further away though...but the figures were clear.

"Hey...isn't that..." said Xalia looking at a young man and woman getting out of the helicopter.

It was indeed. It was Ammon Kaida and Sasha Masson. He turned to kiss Sasha goodbye, he gave a somewhat coy look to Xalia as he saw her approach. It was almost a call to attention. As he left, he took a look back at a somber looking Sasha. But there was no somber look from Kaida. There was only a smile on his lips. A tear filled eye was wiped away by Sasha's hand she smiled back at him. She slowly turned and got back into the helicopter and took off into the distance. Just as they left, Kaida turned to look at Sasha's departure. At the same time, Molina and his group walked over to him and caught the end of the conversation that he was having with with the black clad men.

"...so I'll meet you at Hangar # 4 in a few minutes." said Kaida before turning to acknowledge Molina's presence, "Ah, you made it back in one piece."

"And I assume they made you a part of us. So, what squad did they put you with?" asked Molina. By now, the black clad men were out of earshot.

"No, I'm not with any particular squadron. I'm a lone hunter as you know, but you know who insisted I go with a group. But since all the squadrons are full no thanks to the Allies, I'm having some group go with me. I'd never met them before today...the 2948th Squadron or something. Never heard of them. But they're Elite Air material so..." said Kaida.

"Alright. Going out already?" Xalia cut him off.

"Yeah, Sasha was just here just to see me off." he said. "Well, I'd better be going. I've my own portion of the war to fight. You've already had your feast." said Kaida.

"Where you heading?" asked Makin.

"Oh yes," said Kaida with an air of anticipation to his voice, "we're going to flush out a pocket of Allied resistance at a place called Bethlehem Two Zero or something. Just another outpost. But they control the roads to Royelle and Duga and our ground forces are getting held up there. The faster this ends, the faster we can celebrate." said Kaida. Baraka smirked.

"We're heading for that same battlefield too. We've already got planes heading there. But one word of caution, my young friend. I'll give the Allies this, they fight better with their backs to the wall." replied Molina. Xalia scowled.

"Just don't anything stupid...I don't want my sister a widow because you did something dumb." she said.

"Hey...it's me. I've made a short career of not doing anything stupid. Crazy, but not stupid. I will see you...somewhere else in the stratosphere." said Kaida, holding his hands up, walking away backwards, and giving them condescending looks.

And with that action, Kaida turned and took off for the distant hangars. Molina was concerned though, not because of any lack of experience from Kaida, but because of his own words. He knew the Allies were going to fight with all they had. But the Versuans were going to bring all they had as well. Something had to give before long; but Molina held a private confidence which side that was going to be.

_**Bethlehem Two Zero**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0715 hrs**_

_Our army was once strong. We all loved to look at the things they had. The planes, most of all. But now, they are gone. Our army fights themselves, and the men from the south get closer. There used to be a lot of planes from people who protect us...but now they are fewer and fewer. Our army can't stop the men from the south. And the people from Osea who come to our rescue, they too can't do anything. I am in some town just across from some place the Allies call Bethlehem or something. The others ran without me. I was still asleep. Now I'm all alone...and I don't know where to go and I don't have anywhere to go. So I'm just going to stay here and see what happens. I hear those sirens now. Those ones the airplanes use to get everyone busy. The men from the south are coming already. I don't know if I should be scared but...I think I am. _

The words from one Sueltana Devia had much bearing on the reality of things. In an young girl's words, they summed up the life every Allied pilot in the area. Everyone was living on borrowed time, and it was clear now that it was all or nothing at this point. They had to do something, anything to bloody the nose of the enemy. The Versuans executed their battle plan flawlessly, having learned from the mistakes of the past. If the Allies were going to stop the enemy...this precious airspace was where it had to happen.

Everyone was rushing to their planes. The radar net, what remained of it, had detected the presence of large bombers in the area with an unusually large formation of escorting planes. Previously, the lack of air cover had allowed the bombers to smash the Allies' ground forces unmolested; not this time though, everyone felt. This was their chance to hit the enemy hard. But in reality, most of it was wishful thinking. But, this time...they'd have a little help. They just didn't realize it at that very moment.

The planes began to forum up at about 12,000 feet. The lead plane was the F-15E of the Osean's Vega Squadron leader, "Red Crown". As one plane after another took off in a hasty fashion, there was a cold rush of worry that ran over the group. But there was no backing down now.

"This is Red Crown. All units report in." said Moore. Suddenly, a Su-27 closed to his rear. This was Quara Quaramine from the shattered Voskod unit.

"This is Voskod 3, callsign Boaz. Um..."Samiza" should be up...now." he said, referring to his wingman, Alexis who was just pulling up at that moment.

"I'm in the air boss." Alexis replied.

"This is Archon, my units are up." said Kendrick, taking off from another stretch of road. Moore looked to his right and saw the J-39 of Serena Batiste.

"This is Treya, everyone should be...Cato, are you okay?" she said.

"This is Cato, I've engine problems...I can't make it off." said

"Abort takeoff, Cato. Gasir, see what you can do about it." said Batiste, referring to one of the crew chiefs.

"Roger." Marele said.

"I've detected...additional craft to the rear of us. Allied craft at 300 miles." said another allied plane. No one was sure who it was. But the idea of Allied aircraft in the general area was comforting.

"How many?" Red Crown asked.

"Baker's dozen maybe?" the plane replied.

"Rats. It'll have to do." said Treya.

"Okay, we've got bombers at about 75 miles out…a large escorting formation. Take down those bombers at all costs. We're making quick passes. Fly hard and shoot straight." said Red Crown.

"Any sign of those jammer aircraft?" asked Boaz.

"Why are you concerned about them?" said Red Crown.

"Every time they show up, that lighting stuff happens." replied Voshkod 2. Quaramine knew it because he'd survived several dozen of those attacks in a three day period.

"Really?" said Archon.

"Bethlehem Central, keep eyes out for radar warping or jamming, anything like that." Red Crown said.

"Roger. The bandits are now at 60 miles. Wait a minute...something's strange." said ground control.

"What's going on?" asked Treya.

"They're moving at a different vector now. It's almost as if they're trying to approach from a different angle...a defensive maneuver?" said the command room.

"Strange for a bomber formation...isn't it? Unless...does anyone see anything strange on radar?" said Quaramine.

"Negative. Nothing than the fighters and such." said Treya.

Meanwhile...

The Osean 373rd was closing in on the Allied group. They were not moving ultra fast, but they were not moving at a leisurely pace either.

"Is there any AWACS in the area?" asked Icarus.

"No, last I heard both of them had been done in by those bizarre electrical attacks. So we've got to rely on ground radar, which is not that effective." said Jackson, who went by the callsign "Kingpin One". Just because he felt like it, David decided to make a crack at an old AWACS he used to love to hate back during that war five years ago.

"Fine by me. I've had to work without AWACS before and we did just fine. Didn't we Ava?" David said. David remembered the mission they had to perform back during the war five years ago. Of course, those were under terrible circumstances. Chopper was relieved then, although he expressed it in usual lovable, yet equally annoying fashion. And both of them would kill to have that man next to them once again.

"We sure did. And it was far less annoying." said Kei, although she never found Thunderhead that annoying. Though Thunderhead did make their share of just idiotic mistakes, she never found them intolerable.

"Kingpin One to Red Crown...can you read me?"started Jackson. But there was nothing but bizarre radio chatter mixed with bouts of silence. Jackson repeated himself. "Kingpin One to Red Crown...can you read me?"

"We read you loud and clear. But we're in a bit of a battle up here. The enemy is acting strange. They're pushing away from the center." said Red Crown. Paulo though...he was a bit concerned. This tactic was bizarre to say the least...but it seemed familiar. Then it hit him.

"Wait...they're not...shoot them down now! They're not carrying bombs, their trying to lure you in so they can launch cruise missiles." said Paulo, interjecting.

"Are you sure?" Red Crown.

"Oh yes...I've seen this tactic before." said Paulo. "The B-52s do it all the time in Hierlark in training simulations."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it." said Red Crown.

Jackson had issued the warning, but it was clear that the ball was in the court of Red Crown and his group. For the 373rd, this was seriously unfamiliar territory. They were in a part of country no one in the squadron had ever been, they no AWACS, and the odds were horribly stacked against them. It was going to be one hell of a fight.

"Okay, Scorpio, take your group along the right. Treya, you take your group up the rear and group three will in cut to engage any escort craft. We've got to stop them at all costs." said Red Crown.

"No need to inform us twice. If we lose here..." said Quara. Quara knew it better than anyone. His family was in Dresdene. This land had been his home. But now it was torn into pieces. It was bad enough he had to deal with hard-line communists, but the Versuans too? It was too much. They swung in to engage the fighters. It was a typical intercept, but at least in this instance the ruse was exposed. The Allies went to work immediately.

"Fox 2." said one of the Allied planes, firing a missile at a passing escort craft.

"That's another one." said another allied plane.

The combat was going well at first. The Versuans were going down like flies. But there was something odd about this.

"There's something strange going on. This could be a diversion." said Red Crown, engaging a few fighters himself. The Versans were rather slow to act or react. Either this entire group was made up of less-experienced pilots or this was in fact a diversion...or both.

Some minutes later, and some seventy miles away, the 373rd was closing in on battle zone. David looked at his instruments. Everything was fine and working properly. He took a couple of rapid looks around. To their three o'clock was a mass of trees and hills. To their front, there were piles of smoke. But their vector was north-north east. Whatever was going on up there was not the concern of the 373rd. The Allied units up ahead were faring rather well. They'd taken no losses thus far. That made David and Kei feel at ease. That is until...

"Something's strange...I'm getting additional contacts from our twelve o'clock." said Harpy.

"...and very fast moving ones at that." replied Spider.

"Their heading straight across 010 to 070...that's..." said Artemis.

"Dammit! Their using high-speed bombers cut into intercept!"

"Roger that. There are four at twelve o'clock, 8 at ten o'clock. Two, take em." said Zealot. Cormorance cut above and across Blaze's flight path and increased his speed.

"Wilco. I've got toll...Artemis, Fox 3, Fox 3." said Alou, immediately targeting and firing all four of his missiles at the distant targets. Cormorance then rapidly turned away and turned upwards, breaking formation a bit, albeit in a defensive maneuver that he'd done so many times.

Neither Kei nor David could target the distant bombers the way Alou could; he was carrying four AIM-9X sidewinders and four AMRAAMs. "Dragon" was carrying two bombs, 2 regular Sidewinders and two Sparrows. "Medusa" was carrying two AIM-9X Sidewinders, four Sparrows, and one JDAM. As Artemis spun around back into the fold, the indicators on the radar indicated hits and the bombers that were right in front of them were

"Ha...got em!" he shouted.

For whatever reason, Kei decided to break the ice and take a shot back at Cormorance.

"And the goddess among men draws first blood." she said. Some of the others started chuckling over the radio.

"That's funny. Very funny. But, who has four kills...and who doesn't?" said Alou in more of his sarcastic tone.

"Zing." Andrew said. They proceeded to track the enemy targets for a bit longer when Jackson noticed something on his radar.

"Wait…something's going on." said Jackson, "they're turning away."

"Ha! We scared them off! Talk about easy street!" said Spider.

"This is Red Crown. We've broken up their attack and some of the other fighters are fleeing the battlefield. We've got additional targets on radar though."

"More bombers?" asked Kingpin One.

"I'm picking them up now. They look like fighters." said Zealot.

"I've got them too. Eight targets in one group at 1:00. Eight targets in another group at 9:00 at 156 miles. They'll merge in a few minutes." said Artemis.

"Oh no...could it be?" said one of the Allied pilots.

"It's the same formation, every time. It's them. They're back!" said Voshkod 2. "And this time they've brought some friends...how quaint."

"What is it?" asked Zealot. But his question fell on deaf ears.

"Do we evac the air space?" said another Allied pilot.

"Negative. We're going to stand and fight these guys. We're not running anymore." said Archon.

"What guys?!" he asked more forcefully.

"These guys are pros. They've been tearing apart whole squadrons. The central squadron is made up red colored Su-37s. We've been calling them "Red Devils". Everyone who's fought them has died." said Voshkod 2.

Andrew and Michael scoffed. They were not concerned about it. For them, it was another challenge they weren't going to back off from; they were ready to fight.

"We can take these guys. They're nothing special. We're elite!" said Michael. David was incredulous. David had fought hardened aces before, and he never went in with an attitude like that. He learned long ago that one had to respect the talent of the opponent. It didn't surprise either him or Kei because that's the way they were.

"Hell yeah! Let's get these guys." said "Jacks".

"I would advise against any confidence," said the cynical Quaramine, "The men you face are demons, slayers of men and planes. They destroyed my entire squadron. They are not to be trifled with." said Voshkod 2.

But oddly, the arrogant defiance of Andrew Fisch and Michael Ronde was some sort of sudden infusion of life for the group. Alou's mentality was not an arrogant one. He just wanted to hit the enemy anywhere and in any possible fashion. Serena had fought for days in losing battles. But she'd never encountered the Red Devils in a fight. She'd only heard about them from the others. It was amazing that this group had taken on a sudden mystique. Now they had a chance to hit back. There was something about these Osean men. They had some guts alright.

"We'll see about that. You know...I've never fought these men straight up. I want to see if these 'Red Devils' are as good as you say they are." she said.

"That's what I like to hear. Let's go get them." said Red Crown. Colonel Moore was always a gung-ho guy. He remembered the last war and even he knew it was kind of a ridiculous war. But now, things were better. It was a justified war now. Although they were in dire straits, there was rarely a chance to get fired up about a justified war.

"Okay, let's show them who own the skies around here." said Kingpin One.

"Time for some real action." Polly said.

"I've been waiting for this for years! Bring it on!" said Michael.

"I'm ready. Let them come. I'm ready for them. I'm ready to tear their wings from their planes!" Kei yelled, a rare bit of venom in her voice.

David was equally incredulous at Kei now. This was _Kei Nagase _saying this. As long as he knew Kei Nagase, she would never say a thing like that. For Nagase though, the hate had become poison in her veins. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted revenge. She had a little child, a being she loved more than herself, taken away by these people. For the first time in her life, she showed her fangs to the enemy.

David quickly realized that everything had changed. He looked at the picture of Catherine he kept in his cockpit to remind him of why he was fighting. He felt the hatred in his heart long ago...but he always doubted himself. He doubted whether or not he should feel it. Now he wondered if he should feel any bravado at all. But the mood had totally changed now. For everyone, the fangs came out as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's go cut their goddamned throats!" Serena said.

David didn't know how to feel anymore. But he didn't have time to think about that. The enemy was out there. He had to pull the fangs out as well.

_**Over Vijrundi**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0726 hrs**_

Molina was listening into the action. These new Osean additions to the Allies were certainly making things difficult. This was what Mephisto Squadron was waiting for: a worthy opponent. Or at the very least, they were putting up much more of a fight than the Sotoans, who'd been all but dispatched to the past. Kaida's wing was to Molina's three o'clock.

"So, they've come to play." said Molina.

"As I expected." said Kaida.

"Having fun with your friends over there?" said Xalia playfully.

"Elite talent no less." said Kaida.

"If it were up to me, you'd only be an observer." Molina said. Kaida scoffed.

"Observer? That's it. Then observe this." said Kaida, increasing the speed of his airplane. His wingmen did the same. Molina, not one to back down from a challenge, did the same.

"All right, two points for each bandit. It's your group against mine; loser buys the drinks." said Molina.

"Accept. Let's show the Oseans what real fear is." Kaida said. "I've been looking forward to this."

"Fear...I've enjoyed the idea of the enemy being afraid of us. I think I'm going to enjoy this." said Molina. "All Mephisto planes, pick and lock a bandit. Splash all hostile aircraft."

"Roger that." said Haari, who'd been strangely quiet this entire time.

As David and Kei were turning into the attack, Kei moved slightly ahead of David. She looked and saw the oncoming planes but she wasn't nervous. There was only the hatred that filled her soul. The lust for revenge filled her soul. Michael had moved up as well, still anxious for some decent competition. They'd get all they want soon enough. Wardog was about to collide to face with the scourge of Southern Versua. But if both men got one thing wrong it was this: it would not be fear they would have in their favor...

Next: Chapter 7: Razors


	7. Razors

Note: Pay close attention to some of the things in this chapter. Also, as some of you know, I don't use the AC names for missiles but rather their real life counterparts. So when I say "Alamo" and "Sparrow" I'm refering to the SAAM. "Archer" is QAAM, and "Slammer" is the XMAA. By the way, I did fix a slight continuity error in this one. One I caught only after I submitted the chapter. You may not have caught it, but if you did...then kudos. But I've fixed it now.

Chapter 7: Razors

_Good pilots learn from their mistakes. Great pilots make can turn their own mistakes into their enemies' mistakes. - Johannes Dietrich_

Optimism quickly turned to serious concern for everyone involved. It wasn't just the Allies; the Versuans were not expecting anything like this at all. The fight started like most massive furballs do; there was an exchange of longer range missiles fired and the merge followed. With that being done, some sixty aircraft were turning in the skies above the plains of Southern Yuktobania.

For a mere moment, David Lovecraft had an out of body experience. It felt like a memory, but when he dodged that first aircraft, he found himself pointing towards the sun. He laid eyes on it for a mere second. But it looked familiar. The sky was heavy with clouds, but it was not overcast. The sun seemed a bit subdued today. Then he took a look at his daughter's picture and he remembered it all.

It was that fateful day of fall. The sky was filled with clouds and the sun was subdued that day as well. It in was Echo Park in Oured when he saw them together. Echo Park was one of the most beautiful places in Osea, and that was where they took their daughter for her third birthday. Echo Park held a special place in his heart as his mother would often take him to this place as a child. It brought a tear of joy to his eye to see his daughter playing around in the grass. Now, the tears were nothing but pain exiting his body and soul...but he couldn't forget it. He never did forget that day from the time they left the city.

The last thing he saw in that memory was Kei and Catherine both smiling at his approach. It was that last day of summer. Kei dyed her hair blonde for these kinds of in-country trips. No one in St. Helene cared about who or what they once were. But in looking at him, he wasn't looking at his eternal wing woman and his progeny...he was looking at two angels. In fact, he called them his "angels". Kei was like a seraphim; his daughter the cherubim. He sat down next to them, and his little girl climbed into his lap. Then he looked out to the city and the landscape. With a smile on his lips, the following exchange was made:

_You see all that? That city, the sky, the lake...all of this will be yours someday._

_For me?_

_Someday, you'll have the world and everything in it. You'll get to decide what to do with this place._

Now, her daughter's voice was like a haunting ghost in his mind. But the tortured voices were replaced by ones of a more apparent and contemporary notion.

"Missile! Missile!" said a calm voice.

It didn't take long for him to snap back into reality. The voice was the other half of the angel duo, Kei, calling out an "Alamo" missile fired from one of the Migs that had joined in the dogfight. David went nose low deploying chaff, then doing an Immelmann to turn back into the black colored enemy planes. But before he could respond, two of the black planes were shot down. The white unmarked F-15 had been the culprit.

"Are you alright?" Kei asked, flanking him now. The kind, soothing voice of Kei Nagase threw him back into reality. He went back to work.

"Yeah. I'm fine." replied David.

"Dragon, keep it together; these guys are extremely good. Watch your back with these guys." said another voice; that being the voice of Paulo Scirro. And with those words, he went back to work.

The Mig-29s were protecting the six of a strangely colored Su-47 that was just toying with Wardog's numbers. Or so it was thought. In reality, some of the Migs had broken off on its own to engage loose targets. And from David could hear over the open channels...this was ticking off the flight lead, and rightfully so. The Fulcrums that broke off had broken the cardinal rule of squadron flying: never leave the lead...unless in dire circumstances. They seemed disorganized and sloppy. But it was only a trifle really. No one could keep up with the Berkut. These pilots were extremely talented that was for sure. The Berkut pilot already downed four allied aircraft effortlessly. There was laughter from the man, as if he enjoyed the thrill and excitement of combat. There was a sense of wickedness to it all.

The Terminators were the major problem. They were making life miserable for the combined squadrons as they were playing hunter and hunted with this group. David quickly realized why everyone was afraid of these eight planes. There was something about them. They moved like a group, even when split into flights of four. It seemed they were always together. Their moves were highly coordinated. They were the visual component from men who'd been there before. Yet, as David looked at these pilots slice their way through the sky, he was reminded of a eerily similar group of pilots who stayed in his memories.

These mysterious "Crimson Razors" were every bit as good as those Belkan aces, Ofnir and Grabacr...if fact, the Razors seemed even _better_ than the Belkans! David remembered Grabacr and Ofnir well. They were excellent pilots but their inner hatred distorted their own ablities. They only wanted revenge and wanted to destroy all of Osea and Yuktobania. With the Versuans, it was slightly different. They were fighting for hegemony over the entire Western world, apparently for revenge against the Yukes and Sotoans; nations which had constantly taken advantage of Verusa for hundreds of years. They had fought with passion to unify their country...or at least that what was thought. (Captain Alou didn't buy it at all, of course) These men were not fighting with the same hatred and malevolence Grabacr and Ofnir had.

In fact, David quickly realized why they were better. These men were hardened veterans like many of the remaining Allies. The only difference was they were a cohesive unit. They nt were graceful as most would expect; just the opposite actually. They had a very workman-like attitude about it. They also seemed to have a series of set patterns to their attacks. It was a vulnerability that could be exploited; the fatal flaw of the professional. He moved to the right to engage one of the black planes. He'd probably have better luck going after them. They were intentionally splitting off. One plane got in a few lucky hits on David's plane. It was only one or two hits, but it was damage regardless. Yet, he let Kei take care of that plane. She drove it away while David focused on the enemy. But just as he did that…something totally bizarre occurred.

David..._hesitated_.

He couldn't figure out why at first. Certainly Alou, Scirro, Ronde, Fisch or Elbe would have _never_ hesitated to pull the trigger. Izzo may have, as she was the youngest. And certainly Nagase...or so he thought. Nagase just dispatched one of the black planes without much effort at all. Even now, her flying style was much more vicious in its approach to combat. But...how could David hesitate? He was Wardog Leader once, Blaze, the Demon of Razgriz...how could this be? He'd _been_ there before and thus there was no fear in his heart. This was the man who flew alone into hostile territory with _no weapons at all_. He led the attack on two super submarines, a heavily defended fortress, a mountain face, and a _spaceship_. Not to mention he _flew underground_ to stop a nuclear orbiting platform and subsequently shoot down that same nuclear orbiting platformfrom_ falling _onto Oured, saving it from destruction.

Now five years removed from that...and he couldn't dispatch a measly Fulcrum.

For Baraka Molina and his men, things were not much better. Baraka had expected more resistance but now he knew exactly what had plagued their squadrons in this area for so long. These pilots were good. They were better than good, they were great. The only problem for the Allies was that they were not flying as one group. They were a seriously disjointed unit. There was no organization to what they did. They just merely engaged at will and did employ the proper tactics needed for this kind of fight. But given their assumed experience combined with the simple idea of sheer desperation, there was no tactics needed. As far as Molina could tell, there was no backing down for them. But, he was reminded of that simple saying, _Nothing's easy and nothing's hard; you take it or you don't._

"These guys are tough. Let's withdraw and regroup. Eight, you and seven push left and engage those Osean F-15s man to man. They're the ones doing the most damage." said Molina.

"Roger." replied Iga Orace, one of the senior members of the squadron.

It seemed a simple strategy to head into the sun and turn about. But the Allies weren't buying it; in fact, they were actively pursuing them!

"Five, lead back around and cut them off! We'll approach from the front." Molina said.

"Roger. We're turning about." Alex, the other flight's lead, said.

Molina wasn't getting frustrated yet; it was too early for that. But this enemy unit was becoming a problem. He knew that it was the Osean planes that were causing the havoc. One of the flight leads had shot down one of Kaida's "escorts". And Kaida was not helping matters himself.

Actually, it wasn't really his fault. Kaida was excited to be in the fold for the first time. He'd done a variety of war games, but there nothing like the real thing and he was ready for it. As far as the Allies were concerned, nothing could turn with his fighter. He'd shaken off and blasted his way through two enemy planes who tried to double-team him. The problem was his escorts were getting in the way of his shooting. They'd been given orders to protect Kaida, but they were becoming more trouble than it was worth. He'd ordered them to just watch his back, but some were taking off to engage other planes. Apparently no one told him these escorts had egos of their own. The fact was they were not doing a good job of it. These Allied pilots were giving them hell. At first, Kaida didn't quite understand why. The initial fights had gone over so smoothly. It was almost effortless. It was clear the allies were inferior to the Versuans. So why now would they fight so hard? These the same pilots as before mostly. Their attacks were wild and uncoordinated. The Oseans seemed erratic as well. Then again, desperation made for a good, last great strategy. That Colonel Ignis was going to get an earful from Kaida when he returned.

However, Kaida was excited to finally have some real flight experience. Kaida's father had always taught him that in order to find out one true worth, it is determined when one is tested against the best. He surely felt he was better, but he was suddenly being pursued by another enemy plane.

"Two in front, one behind. Take care of my six, and take those two myself." he said. Soon, the enemy plane was gone, chased away by the Fulcrums. Kaida breathed a sigh of relief. At someone was doing their job.

Cormorance Alou was not going to be fooled by this. He wanted that damned Berkut. He had the perfect angle, but the two Mig-29s were making things difficult. He wasn't particularly worried. He could shake these guys off. But, it wasn't going to be easy. He wasn't even thinking about the wife at home, he was concerned figuring out a way to turn about and blow these two Versuan assholes out of the sky. But as Paulo did for David...David did for Cormorance.

David finally got his act together it seemed. He saw Cormorance was in trouble, but Artemis didn't call for help. Apparently, Artemis thought he could shake these bandits by himself. Why would a married man other than himself take such chances with aircraft that could fire_ Archer missiles_, the Grim Reaper of all heat-seeking missiles? But Alou showed no fear. He was turning and turning with them and had them right in his sight. He didn't even need to say Fox 2; with that action, there were two less enemy planes in the fight.

"Thanks." said Artemis.

"No problem." replied David.

One of the Crimson Razors screamed past David's plane; and better yet, David was in perfect position. Then enemy plane was pushing left past his nose, and he could have got him...but he didn't. He wasn't sure if it was the same feeling as before, or if it was the amazing maneuverability of the Su-37 he was chasing. But if an F-18 could beat F-22 in a straight up dogfight...so could Blaze win this one. But the fangs were stunted. He just couldn't get a good shot off. He got snapshots on his missile locks, but nothing concrete. It continued for some time. He couldn't quite carry it through. Suddenly, the enemy planes broke off all at once.

"What the...hell?" said one of the Allied pilots, a female.

"Their running away! I can't believe it! Their running away! We scared them off! Ha!" said Andrew. Fisch's optimism though may have been short lived, most thought. The other Allied pilots knew better...

"Strange...I've picked up a pair of strangely slow moving aircraft approaching us from vector 345." said Red Crown.

"What's going on?" David said to himself.

Meanwhile, Baraka Molina was angry. He did not want to withdraw. He was certain his men could wipe out these Allies even though they were outnumbered three to one. But orders were orders: _All aircraft are to exit the combat zone at this time._

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0734 hrs**_

Praeten Percival was anxiously watching the battle on the radar screen. The Hawkeye they'd dispatched the battle front was picking up the targets rather clearly. As far as the command could tell, this battle was going to be one of attrition; rather, attrition in the favor of the Versuans. Percival was, to this day, still amazed that they managed to build this massive complex in a mere six to seven years. He was eternally thankful people like General Morales, Zerran Makin and Portia Masson existed. Now he had a chance to flex the true muscles of the weapon in his command.

"Where'd Dr. Zorba run off too, sir?" asked one of Percival's officers.

"She's on her way to the castle for a meeting with...you know who." Percival said. The officer didn't need any explanation; he simply nodded his head. Then suddenly, he turned and said:

"Why aren't you there sir? If she wanted a meeting then..."

"She told me to stay on station. Makin's getting left out too. Apparently, she focused on that Azazael project. I'm not sure. I have a private meeting with her tomorrow. We're going over the details of project. It's on schedule, but if the Allies gain a second wind we may have to up the plan two phases...and that's the worst case scenario." said Percival. Suddenly, he was interrupted by the approach of someone.

"Sir, all friendly aircraft are out of range. White Knight One and Two ready to begin attack." said one officer approaching Percival.

"It's going to be cutting it _real_ close...but we're in range now." one of the technicians said.

"You're a genius Zorba." Percival said to himself.

The idea was simple. The Dispater Tower would transmit an electromagnetic signal to an AWACS 200 miles away. The AWACS would bounce the signal off the X-9 module in its bowels, and then transmit them to the E-2C Hawkeyes, White Knights One and Two.

"I've got a good view of the action. Let's wipe them all out." said Percival with a smile.

_**Over Bethlehem Two Zero**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0737 hrs**_

David was the first to notice his radar was out of control. He'd been noticing these two strange aircraft as well. Lucien Jackson, who was flying his F-4 into the action, also noticed it. He then immediately recognized it for what it was. David knew the jamming was coming from those planes. He'd seen plenty of these craft before, and was wise enough to know what was going on. Call it a sixth sense, but these enemy craft were much more dangerous than they were letting on. David decided to investigate. Whatever possessed him couldn't have come at a worse...or better time.

Suddenly, the sky began to look strange. Lucien quickly realized what was going on. So too did Red Crown.

"Dammit, all craft, abort! Abort! Withdraw from the battle zone!" said Red Crown.

When Red Crown said that, the sky began to erupt with that raw, purplish lighting. It started to the left and began to move right. David was to the far right. He saw the two aircraft warping the radar, lighting approaching him. He had to make a decision. He had to do it. David Lovecraft, Blaze, Dragon all...he went for broke. He cut on the engines to full power and sped for the vector of those two suspicious aircraft.

"Wardog 3, return to formation!" said Kingpin One.

"Wardog 3!" cried out Nagase, not wanting to reveal David's real name. _What the hell was he doing?!_

It seemed bizarre. For once in his life, he knew exactly what was really going on. The purple bolts of death missed him. He could see the enemy craft turning away, as if they saw him approaching. They were some 50 miles away. But he had to get closer. As he did, he knew what it was like to be Heartbreak One all those years ago. He knew exactly what was going on. This was a weapon no one knew how to counter. What was the harm in trying. Besides, there was a war on. He moved closer and closer. And as the lighting bolts past him, he noticed the enemies were beginning to back off. As soon as he got the lock he pulled the trigger.

He launched all four missiles at the two targets. He launched them all because he knew the jamming would account for a miss with the Sparrows, but if he targeted the shade of the radar target and the actual target itself with the sidewinders...he'd get two sure fire hits. The Sidewinders were harder to avoid the closer in they were fired. They would lead the target very well. But he was at the very limit of their range. It was an expensive proposition, but he felt satisfied when he got the confirmation of the hits. And with that action...the purple lightning suddenly _stopped_.

"It stopped. I can't believe it. You magnificent bastard you did it!" said Alou. Alou was filled with pride because of Dragon's actions. Alou, had he the missiles, probably would have done the same thing. After all, he wasn't perfect. He did have some maverick behavior in him. All fighter pilots had a bit in them regardless of how disciplined they were. David turned back into the other members of the 373rd who were merely hanging around now.

"Dammit, three. You could have gotten yourself killed. The next time I give a command you follow it, is that understood?" said Jackson.

"Well...we're alive aren't we?" David responded dryly but in a sarcastic tone.

Nagase laughed. He reminded her of a certain someone from five years ago as well. Some of the others did as well.

"Okay, let's get back." said Jackson.

Lucien was not happy at this display. He wasn't about to take any crap from Lovecraft, not now. Especially considering that this was only the beginning of the war. But Lucien had no idea that Lovecraft could care or less how he felt about him. David had done what he always did when he was a pilot before. He did what he had to do. Now, no one was dead because of it. There was no time for celebration though. There was plenty of war to be fought. But the Versuans...it was a _completely_ different story.

_**Casta Van Alde; Central Ciudad**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0915 hrs**_

Sasha Masson was a bit miffed at what was going on in her father's home. Everyone was celebrating. It was completely unnecessary. What were they trying to prove? The war just began and they were popping champagne and sharing words of victory. Sasha felt she was the only person in this place that had any sense. She walked into the central conference room and there was her oldest sister, Portia. She was laughing it up with one of the other officers. Portia was one of her father's many unnecessary advisors. Most of them hung around Portia, which didn't surprise her. Sasha had met many of those people, and those men were all a bunch of sycophants and creeps. Of course, Portia was her own sycophant. Portia was the vainest person Sasha had ever known in her life. And Portia never liked Sasha. She always treated Sasha like a little child; not to mention Sasha was just a "step-child"...a term of disgust from Portia. Portia was thirty one years old and Sasha twenty one. Neither could be more different. Portia had a "reputation"; a reputation of sleeping around and bribing people. Portia was a shady figure by birth alone. Her mother, before she died, was tied to elements of organized crime. What annoyed Sasha about Portia was that fact that she had two different sets of rules for everybody in her social circle. Everyone beneath her was treated like garbage; everyone above her was treated with respect. Sasha's standing often fell in the middle and swung like a pendulum in either direction depending upon Portia's particular mood on any given day. Portia even looked vain and egotistical. She was always covered in makeup with that annoying long blonde hair...not to mention the long nails and those grotesque, large eyelashes she had. Her eyes were like a snake's eyes.

"Why is everyone celebrating? The war has barely begun and everyone is already breaking out the wine." asked Sasha walking up to her sister. The man Portia was talking to walked off and she turned to face her little sister.

"Oh, don't be such a cynic. The Allies are a paper tiger; they folded as quickly as they showed up. And not a one has the power to stop us." said Portia.

"You referring to this mysterious...Tower again, right?" said Sasha.

"That's part of it, yes." Portia said.

"Well, I haven't seen this...Tower. So I'm not going to base any assumption on a premature victory solely on that." said Sasha.

"What difference does it make? Don't be that way little girl. Stick to what you know." said Portia. She didn't have time to take anything from Sasha. Sasha was Osean educated like her pretentious prick of a husband Ammon, a waste of time in Portia's opinion.

"You've been calling me that years. I'm a grown woman; I can say what I please." said Sasha defiantly.

"That doesn't give you the right." Portia fired back.

"Look, I'm not doing this...oh, I've got a call." Sasha said. She pulled out a satellite phone from her pocket. She knew who it was. Portia rolled her eyes all throughout the conversation.

"Ammon...oh thank goodness. I know, I know...don't worry about me, yada yada. I know! So...how was it? Really? Oh, forget that. Classified information, come on. Please? Really? That's strange. And they were with who?...Okay. I love you. Good luck." she said, hanging up the phone. Portia scoffed.

"Ammon, I never really liked him. He's so pretentious." said Portia, shaking her head.

"No more than you with your makeup case the size of a car?" retorted Sasha. Portia chuckled. Even she couldn't resist or deny a good comeback.

"Touche." she said.

"I wonder how Xalia's doing? I should have asked him. Dammit." said Sasha.

"I'm sure she's fine." Portia said. Portia always had a lot more respect for Xalia. Suddenly, a group of men approached the open door of the conference room. Porita noticed and got a bit sheepish.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I have a meeting with these gentlemen so if you'll..." Portia said, pointing her finger the usual rude way she normally did. When Sasha hesitated, Portia waved her hand in that arrogant fashion she always possessed. Sasha put a scowl on her face.

"Gladly." she said.

_God, what a bitch. Talk about coming from the ugly tree and hitting every branch on the way down, _Sasha thought as she left the room.

Sasha walked past the few generals that were generous enough to let her pass. But the odd thing was these men were wearing black uniforms. As Sasha exited, she saw that Gabriella Zorba woman enter the room. And she too was wearing some strange black uniform. Zorba was much nicer than Portia...but Zorba gave Sasha the creeps. Soon, the conference room door was closed and locked upon everyone's entry into the room. Two black clad guards blocked the entrance. There was something bizarre about all this, but what was the purpose to question it? At least...not at the moment.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**0920 hrs**_

Mephisto Squadron returned in one piece. There was a flurry of activity as planes returned through the hour. Mephisto's pilots convened in an unused hangar on the other side of the runway. They'd turned it into their own officer's club. They were simply waiting for orders. Xalia Masson was merely looking at the view outside in the nice morning sky. She'd done her job and everyone else had done their own. They were all back in one piece.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight planes. Count them, we're all back alive. Wow, that was interesting. They sure gave us a run for our money." said Mephisto 6, Roni Laserth, pointing at each plane in the hangars.

"They just got lucky." said Alex rather indignantly. Alex was angry he couldn't get another shot at those Osean bastards.

"No, it wasn't luck. Those men were very skilled." said Molina. _Leave to the Commander to be modest_, thought Alex. Alex then turned to Xalia who was just standing there.

"It's a shame you didn't shoot down anyone ma'am." he said to her.

"I'm not concerned really. We're alive, that's all that matters. I'm sure your kill count matters heavily to you, but not to me." said Xalia. Xalia had a way of being firm and stern without sounding like a complete. She could tell people off without sounding like a bitch; the kind of person that a certain Portia Masson was on daily basis.

"I understand Captain. We all have to have our priorities." said Alex lifting his hands. But Baraka had different things on his mind.

"That lead...the man who was hounding me...why didn't he follow through?" he said. Everyone arched an eyebrow. That didn't seem right for an enemy to hesitate. Especially for the Oseans; after all, they were backed into a corner.

"Maybe he wasn't as skilled as you. I'd give anything to have a crack at those guys again." said Laserth.

"No, he was good. He stayed with me move for move. But...he couldn't follow through. Why?" Baraka interjected.

"I'm sorry I didn't keep him off of you better." said Xalia in a somber tone. It was no secret in the group that Xalia and Baraka were more than just wingmates. Baraka looked at her with a pair of sympathetic eyes. It wasn't her fault. This Allied pilot was too good.

"Don't apologize. The only question is...why did he hesitate? He was in perfect position...why did he hesitate?" Molina asked. It was a legitimate question.

"You know, it was funny. That guy kind of reminds me of someone. That flying style...I could have sworn I'd seen it one before." said Alex. Alex's words though, fell on mostly deaf ears.

"His plane was trailing some smoke; it may have been an equipment malfunction." said Eldrich Morton. "Oh...there's Ammon."

Kaida walked past the group in an obvious huff. He was not pleased with the mission. He was also not pleased he had to lie to Sasha so she wouldn't get upset so early. Baraka quickly stopped him.

"Kaida, I guess your men didn't quite perform up to the highest level." Baraka said, letting a laugh escape. Kaida brushed him off and shot back a dirty look of frustration and anger.

"They were not my men. That was the problem. Anyway, I got to get back to the hangar. I'm having a word with that Ignis. Next time, I'm going alone. I did better alone than with the 'wingmen'." said Kaida.

And with that, Kaida walked off. It was no secret that men like Molina and Kaida were given preferential treatment in the VAF to the extent no other ace even would dream of being treated in another country. People like Molina, Kaida, Daydenko, Yancing, Malles, Morala, and Josen were celebrities in the VAF; and no one would have it any other way. Xalia had been talking to another officer and then walked back up to Molina.

"They're launching another attack in several hours. The ground troops are preparing to move up to Royelle." she said.

"Are we going up?" asked Molina.

"Negative. We're holding here on reserve." Xalia replied. After an awkward pause, Molina said something a bit off.

"I could use some coffee right now." said Molina. Xalia let out of a laugh. She knew Baraka wasn't much of a coffee drinker anyway. It seemed such a strange transition for him. She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'll get us some." she said through her laughter. Xalia loved this place. Xalia always felt that this squadron was her true family. Xalia had long been considered the favorite of her father, but in reality...it was just lip service. Xalia never let that go to her head. She knew that William Masson wasn't her true father anyway...

_**Bethlehem Two Zero**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**1000 hrs**_

Bethlehem Two Zero was safer now, but only just. Most of the station was a mass of tents, trailers and other temporary structures. The place had seen some serious battles over the past few days. But this place was vital. It was the only sort of cohesive air to air unit in the area. It would be the first and last line of defense for the time being while the rest of the Allies tried to mobilize a larger response. But the Verusans were on a roll. They'd torn through the Sotoan Navy and the Osean carrier Buzzard II and a portion of its battle group had been sunk just off the Aurelian Coast. The Versuan Naval Armada was closing in on the Ceres Ocean by the day. It was going to get a lot worse before it got better. But at the time, no one in Bethlehem Two Zero cared. They were happy to be alive.

By the time everyone had landed, most of the Oseans were calling places to sleep. Although, Lieutenant Fisch had a mind for a rare bit of kindness once he discovered that his trailer was a bit bigger than he thought. Enter David and Kei...rather Jonathan and Ava.

"I got this room but it's not for me. I'd figure you'd probably find a better use for it, if you know what I mean." Fisch said with a chuckle.

Both of them giggled a bit as well. But both knew there wouldn't be much time for "that."

"What's going on now?" Nagase asked.

"They're trying to get the HQ back up to speed. Well, I'd better go. I'll see you later." Fisch said. He wasn't much for long conversations with them anyway.

After a long pause, Kei started walking around the room slightly waving her arms back and forth in some kind of gesture; the unusual thing she'd do when she was just waiting for something.

"That was very nice of him. It's better than staying in some tent." she said.

"We may not be here long. But at least we're alive." said David, looking away.

"Though something tells me we are not going to be here long." Kei said. She then walked over to her husband and sat down next to him on the rather austere looking bed.

"So how did it feel?" Kei asked, pointing her head toward him with a slight smile. "Did you feel like I did? I felt...righteous for some reason. For the first time I felt...powerful. I felt like I could feel their fear. I wanted them to feel what I felt when I saw that sinking ship." she said, with a strange look on her face.

David was perplexed. Who was this woman and what did she do with his beloved Kei Nagase? It was if she'd morphed overnight. Of course, one could never underestimate what the female psyche was capable of, especially when it involved their children.

"How did it feel? It felt like a razor blade was being stabbed into me while I was trying to fly. I couldn't function right. It didn't feel right at first. I was hesitating; I was jumpy...that wasn't the way I was long ago." David said.

Of course he was feeling down. David was never the man to find combat completely exciting. Kei had actually relished the idea of revenge. Especially since they had been attacked with that Lucien said was the weapon that killed their daughter and hundreds of others. David didn't know what to feel. Kei responded with the obvious.

"But you went after those other craft. You saved a lot of lives. That's the reason you were so good. It didn't matter that you couldn't get the other planes. You did what mattered most. So what, you defied a direct order; no one's making any complaints." she said. That was more along the lines of something Kei would say. But even in that he sensed the defiance and anger in her voice.

"But...holy god, that was powerful stuff. I've never seen anything like that." David said.

"And to think that what..." Kei said, trailing off. But she didn't need to say the rest. David knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Could you imagine what they could really do with that kind of a weapon?" David pondered.

"I don't think we want to know...but odds are we're going to find out soon enough." said Kei.

David looked at Kei, and then turned back to the wall. He heard something crash in the back room; or at least what sounded like the back room. They both looked at each other and David decided to go look. He walked to the back door and opened it. What he saw didn't shock him, but it certainly wasn't what he was expecting. It was some kid just rummaging around the area. She didn't look older than ten or eleven. Her eyes were a darkened blue and seemed a bit unkempt. She looked Yuke in origin. But since Yukes and Verusans shared racial heritages, he could have been wrong. But they locked eyes for a mere moment and neither did anything. David and the girl froze. Both shared a set of sympathetic eyes. As soon as both locked eyes, the girl ran off.

Next: Chapter 8: A Tale of Two


	8. A Tale of Two

Note: This chapter has undergone a few changes since I first wrote it. The chapter title was changed after I realized that the subject matter didn't fit the chapter name. Also, the quote in this part is made from a character from another of my fanfics called Mayhem, one that's on this site.

Chapter 8: A Tale of Two

_It's easy to compare two pilots and see if one is better than the other. But to equate two cultures is impossible. Two pilots do not two different societies make. But between them, they are their own existence mutually exclusive of all others. One must never make assumptions about culture based on its soldiers. - Jan Rosencrantz_

As quickly as the girl showed up, she ran away. Of course, Kei didn't really get a glimpse of the girl. She heard the noise as well, but did not think it came from the same direction where her husband searched. As a result, she had some questions of her own. As David stared into the beyond, she looked around and saw smoke in the distance. All around the base and the area was the detritus of battle. She could only wonder what it was like south of their position.

"Who was that?" she asked. David shook his head and walked back to her.

"Some kid...a little girl. She was just going around in the trash back here and when I looked at her she ran off like a track star." said David.

"One of the others said that town was empty. Maybe she was left behind." said Kei. The "others" were some of the allies around Bethlehem Two Zero; though few had any interest in talking to her. That Sotoan woman seemed an interesting person, but Kei didn't catch her name.

"It's highly possible given the situation over here. I never imagined Yuktobania would implode like this. But it hasn't really sunk in yet considering we've only been here less than a day." said David. As long as they'd been together, they'd tried not to get caught up in news and other world events. In reality, neither had been that concerned with international events as long as they'd lived. But considering the time of the previous liberal administration, media saturation was actually very light. Now it was unavoidable with a war on. Kei had long given up the idea of a peaceful world. Now her heart drifted on the razor's edge between pain and anger.

"It's sad really." Kei said, looking away.

Just as she looked away, Kei and everyone else in the general area could hear yet another air raid siren go off. And with that action, the vicious cycle continued. Over the next several hours there would be more battles as planes turned above the base. Kei felt a bit of bile reach the back of her throat. She wasn't sure if it was pain or anger that made that reaction. But it didn't matter. She'd witnessed firsthand the weapon that had killed her daughter and so many others. She knew that it was only a sample of what was to come. She'd heard the stories about what that mysterious weapon had already done. She was not particularly hoping she would have to die for her daughter...now she was lucky if she got the chance. It was selfish thinking that five years ago would have been anathema. She was certain her lover felt the same. If only she knew...

There were losses in the air and on the ground, but Bethlehem held. What was supposed to be a simple affair was turning into a tactical quagmire for the Versuans. But the allies had been driven out of Bethlehem and it was only a matter of time before the war would reach the heartland of Southern Yutkobania...the place where the war in this shattered country would be decided.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 21, 2016**_

_**0900 hrs**_

There was an air of uncertainty around the pilots there. The battle plan was in flux at points. They'd inflicted their fair share of damage on the enemy, but the Allies replied in kind. They'd heavily damaged Bethlehem Two Zero, only to have to deal with Royelle and Damascus Two Zero. The Allies were vivified now; backed into a corner they were and they were not giving up an inch more to the Versuan war machine. At first, it was just a setback, but each delay was giving the Oseans more time to mobilize their forces. In fact, they'd already completed the mobilization of several divisions of their regular army. Time was running out to press the advantage. The last thing the Verusans needed was a choke. A certain commander at the Dispater Tower was not pleased at losing two valuable ECM aircraft; a more conventional approach was needed. So the Air Force High Command was preparing a massive bombing raid on the city of Royelle. The ground troops would dash into the city and seize it as quickly as possible.

It was difficult to judge the feelings of the pilots in this town. Some were confident, some were indifferent, and some were filled with the sense of absolute urgency. Even the staff officers were mixed. But if there was one constant, the members of Mephisto Squadron were constantly primed. They were ready to fight no matter what. But they'd been on several sorties in different areas of South Yuktobania. They had several tough engagements against the Yukes in the western areas; units that had gained a second wind. Iga Horace had a close call with an Archer, but all that, they were still flying. They were all still alive. But it would not be Mephisto that would involved in this battle. Their zone of focus was shifted to the sea. The Osean Navy was massing for either an attack or amphibious landings.

But for Ammon Kaida, it was a day that God made. He was sensing something big on the horizon today. He was all smiles walking through the hangar area. Xalia, Baraka, Alex, and Zerran Makin were hanging around inside their "officer's club" when Kaida walked in and sat down at the cards table. Xalia shook her head and smiled. Zerran Makin knew a lot of pilots through his father, but he'd had limited contact with this man. Kaida was high society compared to many of the others. He wasn't a legend, but he in the elite class with so many others. But he had some arrangement with the command guys. He almost always flew alone. Makin was befuddled by that fact. He had to know why.

"I'm just curious. Why are you always flying alone anyway? What did you do before the war started?" Makin asked.

Kaida turned towards him with a smug look on his face. But it wasn't Kaida that spoke first.

"Oh come on, you should know. He's the best young pilot out there." Molina said.

"I don't know if I'm the best..." said Ammon.

"...next to me of course." said Alex. Xalia scoffed. Alex was always the cocky one. He could have at least made it less obvious.

"Shut up, Alex." she said. Alex threw up his arms.

"Well, I made my bones, as they would say...flying strange experimental aircraft. I was the last pilot selected for the program, and only one of three to survive the testing phase of some new airplane some three years ago. I guess that's why they hold me in such high regard." said Ammon. Xalia wasn't buying it as much as Makin did.

"What kind of plane was it?" Makin asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Ammon replied.

"Can you give us a hint?" asked Sodel Sinora, another of the Mephisto squadron members.

"To be honest, I don't even know myself. They gave us few details about the craft. They look deceptively contemporary with what advanced planes are already out there...but the cosmetics are where the differences end. That's all I can tell you." said Ammon.

"I understand." Makin said, finally accepting the fact he wasn't prying anything out of this gentleman.

"To answer your original question, I fly alone because that's what I'm used to. I'm an only child; high society guy like me is going to have problems in a group environment most of the time. Because let's face it, and I know this from my time in Osea, most groups and teams are mostly made up of insipid, rebellious and lazy people who depend on a few in the group to do the work. My first few squadron experiences were abject disasters, here and back in Osea. Besides, I'd earned it. But ever since I got married to Sasha, our fearless leader has been somewhat nervous about my flying alone. I mean I understand he wants to have heirs and all...but I've said too much. I'd better go." said Ammon.

Xalia knew that he had a mission coming up, but she wanted an opportunity to embarrass him a bit. If there was one thing that Xalia loved doing was poking fun at Ammon. However, it was not as much fun without Sasha around to laugh as well.

"Speaking of heirs...have you..." said Xalia, stopping him just outside the hangars.

"Oh, funny you should mention that. Since our fearless leader, your father, decided to put on this war business, it naturally put the kibosh on the bedroom business." said Ammon.

Xalia started to blush and laugh so much she had stop and sit down on one of the stairs leading into one of the trailers. She started hitting her hand on the railing.

"I'm sorry." she said, almost losing her speech due to her raucous laughter. Ammon looked away with a crooked smile and began to laugh.

"See, if I had more people like you in my squadrons...my group experiences would have been much better." said Ammon.

"Sasha must be worried sick about you. She must hate this more than anybody." said a following Baraka, who knew Sasha very well.

"Well, of course she is! But, there's a war on and I'm here ready to fight. Period dot." Ammon said with a scowl on his face. It was an insulting thing really. Ammon came ready to fight with no regrets at all.

"So you're going out again? Are you participating in the boring sea patrols like us?"

"No. My business is with Royelle. I've been given orders from Colonel Teles to stay out of the central areas and stick to the flanks if I insist on going without a wingman. But, to hell with that; I've done some interesting things to this Berkut. Something I think will give those troublesome Oseans a bit of a problem."

"Like what?" Xalia wondered. Xalia had ideas of her own, but she wanted it from the horse's mouth.

"Oh, it's a little something I learned from back at Heirlark; it took six months to make. There was this Belkan born officer who was training me, and told about this ingenious invention he had that totally screwed with the Oseans way back in the Belkan War. It was rather difficult work. But you know Mila Cova, that female mechanic around here?" said Ammon.

"Yeah, she does a lot of service for Hecate Squadron. Good woman." said Baraka.

"Well, her expertise was rather helpful. And I found a way to cram some more gadgets into my fighter. The only thing I sacrifice is ten percent of fuel consumption. But I never hang out in battle that long anyway. Get in, get out, hello goodbye, a few more kill markings on my fighter." said Ammon, banging the side of his fuselage. Baraka knew that Ammon had as much flying ability as he did mechanical savvy. After all, he was a pretty smart guy. His IQ was rather substantial. He had a Bachelor's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from his time in Osea.

"How many do you have?" asked Xalia

"Eight. I'm looking to add to it. What's your number? Still sixty one?" said Ammon. Baraka put a smile on his face.

"Sixty five now. Counting the last war's totals." he replied.

Ammon scoffed. Originally he hadn't really been interested in the whole idea of kill counts, but it was still a frame of reference that was important. One more enemy plane that was gone and one less there was to fight back. One way to hasten the war's end; it was a no brainer. It wasn't the idea of war; it was the events of war. The adrenaline, the thrill, and the excitement were what drove him to succeed in the air.

"You know, Alex said you weren't the kind of person to like war." Xalia said. Ammon turned. He was used to Alex being a braggart, but to think Alex didn't know him after all these years.

"Well, he's going to have a lot of crow to eat after I get back. I sense a large bounty of enemy planes today. There's no time like the present." said Ammon.

Ammon was confident. He came to play today and he took pride in that. He took pride in his individuality despite the fact that individuality was not something that was heavily valued by the White Crows. Ammon was his own man, and wasn't that interested in finding other people like him. Of course, he didn't realize there was someone on the Allied side who was rather similar in style and function. He just didn't realize it yet.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 21, 2016**_

_**0927 hrs**_

Royelle was a town founded by Sotoan immigrants from the Sotoan Fascist regime in the early 1900s. Since the Yukes were fundamentally opposed to fascism, they were embraced, albeit hesitantly, by their new country. Over time, it grew into a small city of about 90,000. But in 2014, civil war broke out between Communist hard-line factions and loyalist forces. The Sotoans sensibilities had changed long ago. As Yuktobania tore itself apart, the citizens of Royelle began to leave over the course of two years until only about 30,000 were left. Most of them were too poor to travel, or simply loved their land and refused to leave. Now they were hunkered in shelters and basements around the city.

The city was not the objective. It was the highway junctions near it. But despite the utter ruthlessness the Verusans had conducted their air war, most cities were left alone. Vijrundi was taken with little collateral damage. But the bases had been utterly annihilated by either bombing or the Dispater cannon.

Kei Nagase was simply killing time around her fighter. She'd managed to keep it clean through out several battles already, but odds were that things were going to change and soon. She also wanted to avoid dealing with Lucien Jackson as much as possible. She would have passed the time by talking to her husband, but he was off busy working on his own plane which had taken some friendly flak by accident last night. She was sitting in the shade under her fighter, but it didn't matter as it was rather cool outside. Suddenly, she was approached by someone. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she felt the approach of Polly Elbe.

"You know, you're a smart person. I've always wondered how a country so divided ended up so unified so soon."

"Oh, Polly." she said, masking her contempt for this woman. Nagase always wondered how this hard partying chick managed to keep a job. In fact outside Cormorance, Lillian, and Paulo, Nagase wondered who in their right mind would keep giving people like Michael, Polly, and Andrew third and fourth chances.

"What do you mean?"

"I know there's something wrong going on in that land." she said. Kei was taken by surprise. She didn't expect this partial alcoholic of a pilot to be rather insightful. But there was something

"What? A green-blood gal can't make a political comment every now and then?" she said, rather upset.

"Of course you can! Don't be ridiculous." Nagase said. Of course, she didn't bother to add_…assuming you can stay off the rum_ _and wine coolers for more than a couple of hours._

"I've heard some _stories_ about Versua and their so-called, 'unification'. It's not as bright as it intended to be." said Polly.

"I can imagine." replied Nagase. Kei had heard plenty of them from Cormorance's rants.

"I bet a lot of them were exaggerated, but you can't make some of that stuff up. Especially in Rouge Park." said

"How would you know? You're not Versuan." said Kei.

"No, my boyfriend is though." she said. _I imagine it's someone who can drink her under the table...if that's possible_, Kei thought.

"So what are you saying?" Nagase asked.

"I'm saying we could be in for a rough war. But I wouldn't have it as a soft war..." said Polly. Kei arched an eyebrow and shook her head. It was just exhausting talking to this woman.

"Enus vilo, na cherus casen a naese edena garus." said a voice. Polly and Nagase turned and saw a woman who was slightly taller than Polly, with longer blonde hair, walking towards them. But she didn't look as intimidating as Polly. Her gait was more refined, almost dignified. The uniform gave her away as one of the non-Osean pilots.

"What the hell does that mean?" Polly asked the woman.

"It's an very old Versuan saying. It means this: _war can have no mercy found or true peace bound_." said

"Oh. I'd expect Cormorance to say something like that. Well, I'd better get going then." said Polly. Polly thought her IQ felt lower after meeting this woman, whoever she was. All she knew was that she was one of the Sotoans. But Polly Elbe was not interested in knowing who all these foreigners were. But Kei Nagase was more open minded. These people were going to be a valuable asset to have in combat. The woman shook her head.

"I don't think we've met. Or maybe did meet, I'm not sure." said Kei. She had seen her before...she thought.

"Tre mona, a suis a miere Serena." said the woman in her native tongue. Kei was not a one hundred percent polyglot, but she knew enough to get by. Loosely translated, this Serena had given Kei the textbook greeting, "Hello friend, my name is..."

"Uh...Resei mon, a suis a miere Ke...I mean, a suis a miere Ava." said Kei, almost letting her real name slip out. Kei replied with the textbook response in "Thank you friend, my name is..." She hated this subterfuge. If anything, she now wished she could still be Kei by name. She knew exactly who she really was, but every time she had to bring up that stupid fake name

"Close...Ava." said Serena, taking note of Ava's slip of the masculine usage of the Sotoan word for "friend". Ava shook her head.

"Strange being here, isn't it? I mean, for you." asked Kei. Serena scoffed.

"Funny you should say that, Tre mona. It's...as you would say, a rock and a hard place. Things are not quite rosy back at the home front. Our navy has been swept away by that goddamn lightning...thing or whatever the hell it was! They can invade us at will! And we are left to struggle here. So taking both into account, I have no idea what to look forward to!" she said in an aggressive tone, but keeping the seemingly fluid, silvery tone that Sotoans often spoke with.

"But, at least our situation is much better. Thanks to you." said Kei.

"You're welcome." said Serena tipping her head and walking away again.But as she did the air raid sirens went off and everyone went running again. But this time, everyone knew the stakes were higher than ever. The Allies knew yet another attack was coming, but they did not know when it would occur.

Serena cursed. Kei let out a bit of a chuckle. She wasn't expecting this rather dignified pilot to be such a foul-mouthed one. Of course, save that, this Serena Batiste kind of reminded Kei of...herself. Kei never felt she was an individual type of person. She was always the ancillary to David, especially when he took the name of "Blaze" and burned a legend all his own five years ago. But despite this, she felt she was a one of kind individual. With Serena there was a resemblance, but it wasn't a perfect copy. Not even a certain member of the Versuan Air Force who was similar to her, and who was coming to fight them no less, was a perfect copy. But he didn't care...or was aware of it. All he was concerned about was getting to the combat zone.

_**Over Royelle**_

_**November 21, 2016**_

_**0958 hrs**_

Kei Nagase and Ammon Kaida did not care about the current situation. They didn't care that the Versuan bombers were getting pelted by a concentrated force of desperate, highly skilled pilots. They were face to face, but neither realized the other was there.

Kei knew before she spotted the plane that the battle was going well. The bomber escorts were rather weak, given the overconfidence of their enemies. But it had been a violent, costly battle. There were over eighty planes scrambled and now less than sixty remained. But the Versuans were taking losses as well. The sky over Royelle was becoming filled with total chaos. All Kei Nagase thought was: _This is the one. This is the same one who attacked and took several of our allies with him. Now he's back. He's with those people who killed my girl and I'm taking him back to my base this time. _

All Ammon Kaida thought was the following: _That white F-15 is Angels 11, I'm at Angels 10. I need to get to Angels 12 or higher. Angle of attack at 45 degrees. Escape vector at 200 even. Eject handles at Green. Light flares at half, missiles...two Archers, one Alamo. Standing: eight confirmed kills, one probable, one assisted kill. Status, 60 enemy planes, 104 friendly planes...make that 103 friendly, 59 enemy. _

Kaida was prepared to turn directly into Kei, fire an Archer missile...game over. But it did not work out like that. Kei dove into him like a knife coming down from the sky. Kaida knew exactly what he was going to do though. He wasn't intimidated. He could slow turn and Immelmann and get behind her, fire an Archer...game over. But _that _did not work well either. As soon he performed his planned maneuver, she was right in front of him! Nose to nose! She was trying to stiff arm him. But she was too close to get a quick lock on, and they both passed each other.

"How did the pilot do that!?" he asked himself angrily.

Kei had anticipated he'd try to get behind her, so Kei drew upon one of the old rules of air to air combat: 'never turn your back'. She was determined to face this Berkut head on. She turned back into

"Damn!" she cursed.

Kei had only a limited window in order to evade the missile. But she got lucky when a streaking fighter crashed right into it. He couldn't tell if it was friendly or enemy. But the missile was off her tail and she could turn back into him. In the old days, she'd have spent needless time thinking about who the missile hit. She knew David was still alive, but he was caught up in his own battle.

"Are you kidding me?!" Ammon said to himself. Ammon was angry now. This pilot was frustrating him to no end. It was the first time he had to work so hard on one fighter. He should have been focused on the deteriorating battle conditions around him, but he was focused like a laser beam on this one pilot who was giving him everything he could handle.

The funny thing was that this pilot hadn't really called for help. Kaida expected more enemy planes, but they were all busy savaging the Versuans. The enemy plane dove right in front of him at about a mile out. The pilot came up and fired a missile of her own. Kaida sensed the radar lock and make a quick evasive juke to the right. Turning left would have been too predictable. Besides, this Osean pulled its own defensive maneuvers...predictably too the left. Kaida smiled as he closed, lead the target and prepared to fire.

"Fox Two!" he shouted.

As he fired, Kei realized that he fell for it and turned to the left and dove for the deck as she released another series of flares. Kaida flew left and downward, hoping to get a good enough angle to engage at a closer range. But Kaida was a bit too sure of himself. He fired his machine gun a little too early and Kei saw the metal points of death flashing right by her plane. By now the Archer was off track and she had to turn back into him. But she was in perfect position.

"Again!?" said Kaida, surprised at the close range firing of the Sparrow. He knew this woman still two Sparrows from his spot check of her plane. He dove up at maximum speed, slowed and tried to get in a shot. He fired back with his machine guns but missed.

"Dammit!" Ammon said. Kei was listening over the channels and she realized that she was frustrating this guy. But she couldn't get in a good shot. She ignored everything around her, even the radio calls. She was confident that her friends could handle the bombers. Kaida was listening to the enemy radio calls on the open lines. It was unexciting until a female pilot brought up the issue of his Berkut. She couldn't have missed it as Kaida had the only Berkut out there.

"It's a woman...? Strange." he said. He knew that there were great female pilots, but none had ever pushed him this hard. Yet there was something familiar about this flying style. He could have sworn he'd seen it before...but that was irrelevant now. Ammon had to come up with an idea fast. But he did have his ace in the hole left.

"This will confuse her." he said to himself. He pointed nose high and flew straight up for the sky above. One he had the distance he pushed a button on his helmet and a shade came over his helmet visor. Then he flew back down and released the pods he was carrying. He flew away, missing sight of the enemy pilot for a few seconds. But then he realized he'd made a stupid mistake. He didn't want to lose the target, so he turned back in and she was gone.

Kei saw the pods detonate with a slow delay of light followed by a massive blast of light. She ducked almost completely blinded. She was at 14,000 feet. She pointed her plane at a slow, downward angle so she wouldn't smash into the ground. She was literally flying blind. But Kaida was coming down right in front of her and overshot his angle. Nagase was drifting but she wisely turned on the Semi-active radar. Suddenly, she had a lock and her IFF had never screwed up before. She took a shot in the dark.

"Damn, this pilot is good!" said Kaida, dodging another missile. By now, Kei had regained her eye sight and saw the silhouette of that damned Berkut. She was going to get him this time. But it didn't quite work out the way she wanted. They continued to turn back into each other several times, but without any luck on either side. Finally, Ammon was fed up.

"To hell with this. I didn't fly all this way for a stalemate." he said. This was unacceptable. He'd made too many mistakes. The biggest one was something he didn't even notice until he lost his laser focus. He was out of ammo and worst of all...he'd totally ignored the mission's changing conditions.

"The last bomber's been shot down! Group Three's been split up!" said one of his allies. Ammon's heart stopped.

"What!?" said Kaida in total shock. Kaida looked like an idiot now. He cursed repeatedly. While he'd been so embroiled with this rival enemy plane, the Allies had made short work of their bombers. The first wave had been successful, but they did not do the critical damage that was needed. In the midst of the battle, more reinforcements from the Allies arrived. Ammon had to admit that the Allies fought their battles well. But then again, they didn't have the range of the Tower to tip the balance in their favor. Then again, the bombers were a bit outdated and the escorts were lousy. He couldn't think of an answer as to why. He cursed himself for screwing this up. It wasn't his fault. His one plane couldn't do everything. Mephisto may have had the same trouble even if all of them were there. But Kaida still took it on himself.

"All planes withdraw from the battle zone. Our operation has failed." said one of his allies. That voice was probably Vexus Two, the ranking officer.

"Damn it all! These Allies have some attachments...that's for sure." Kaida said. He had to give them credit, even though he was supposed to hate their guts. But the truth was that Kaida didn't hate them. After all, he knew how the Oseans functioned. There was no sense in debating anything now. The mission for all intents and purposes was over. But that woman...Kaida knew that he seen that style of flying before. It was almost as if it hadn't changed at all.

Kaida didn't want to retreat, but had no choice. Not because of any orders given, it was because he was completely Winchester. It was the first time he'd ever run completely out of ammo. It was embarrassing. He could picture the jovial Xalia laughing at him when he returned to base. He spent the remaining ordinance he had on one pilot.

Kei Nagase on the other hand was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. She'd done something great. She stood toe to toe with the enemy and came out alive. She didn't realize it at the time, but she did her part. Had that Berkut been loose to wreak havoc on the Allies, the outcome would have been different. But Royelle was safe now and that's all that mattered. It was damaged, but the ground held and the sky did as well. But Kei knew that enemy pilot had to be an inexperienced one. He had yet to fully become accustomed to the rigors of war. He had the look of a pilot who had a lot of flight experience but limited combat experience. His actions were impulsive and he constantly over-pursued. Kei Nagase made the realization that this pilot was just like she was back six years ago when the Oseans and Yukes fought each other over these very skies.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 21, 2016**_

_**1020 hrs**_

Kei experienced it from the other side several times; but in this case, it was the first time in her life people were actually swarming to her plane after a battle. Kei didn't understand what the sudden adoration was for. All she did was keep pace with a Su-47? She'd fought against those before in lesser aircraft over Stier Castle six years ago. She knew what she was doing. But why the congratulations now? Was what she did that impressive to the members of the 373rd? Everyone came up to her, even Jackson. Lucien was rather upset at her decision to go after one plane the entire fight. But even he had to admit that going toe to toe with an advanced plane like that, especially one that single-handedly took _eight_ allied fighters with him was an impressive feat.

"I can't believe you did that!" said Lillian, who grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her in excitement. Lillian Izzo was always a little too...physical with people after events like this. Of course, she was an animated, bizarre person anyway. So Kei wasn't surprised.

"Wow...that was impressive." said Michael. Michael's handshakes were cold, but a little too strong.

"You were all over him. Imagine that, going toe to toe with a Su-47!" said Paulo,

"But who the hell was that guy?! What was that stuff? I didn't think a Berkut could do that; and I've seen my fair share of action over the years."

David though was the most shocking of all. After the praise had died down, he took her to their "quarters", which was simply a rather fancy looking tent now, and picked her up in total excitement. Of course, Kei knew he had to do it in front of the others in order to keep up their subterfuge. But the fact that he was congratulating her now, and picking her up and kissing her seemed rather nice. Even though she'd 'been there before'…all the congratulations didn't stop her from having a blush or two.

"I think that's the best flying I've ever seen you do. You were flying better than I was." David said. That fact was completely disconcerting to Kei. Ever since Sand Island, Kei had conceded that she'd never be good as Blaze. But the fact that on this very day she was _better_ than Blaze himself seemed...odd.

"Better than you? I think not. I've never flown better than you." said Kei. Typical Kei Nagase as she never took credit for anything. They both sat down on the ground, and Kei let her head drop onto her husband's shoulder. She stayed that way, even while he spoke. David let his hand brush over the silk strands of her hair and along the sides of her neck. He kissed the top of her forehead. Kei cooed a bit, enjoying this rather ubiquitous show of affection.

"Well you had to do that...how else could you keep up with that enemy plane?" David said. It was like he was talking to a small child at this point. But Kei didn't care.

"Well...I mean, I did the best I could." she said. A long pause followed. Kei still had her head on David's shoulder and she only broke it minutes later when she had something to say.

"I have to say though...it felt good to almost have that guy. I'm going to be inside of his head. That's never happened before. Usually it's you they're afraid of. But, me...to be inside someone's head; I want to fight him again." she said. Kei smiled hoping that was the truth. She was only slightly correct.

"Too right." replied David. David thought she was being _way_ too modest. But, it was strange being around this woman now.

"I wish I knew whatever happened to the old you. I liked you being the narrow minded sensualist you were." said David.

"Narrow minded!?" she said, somewhat ripping herself from his embrace.

"You said it yourself!" David shot back.

"Oh, that's right. Well, I've got bad news...she no longer works here." she said looking at him with her now piercing brown eyes. "She retired when Catherine left this world."

The way she trailed off filled David with some worry. He sensed the poison in her voice. It now finally sunk into David's head that the Kei Nagase he knew six years ago, was long gone.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 20, 2016**_

_**1045 hrs**_

Things were not looking good. Planes limped and landed back at the base. The looks of disappointment were on every pilot's face. But Xalia was only concerned about one. Xalia anxiously awaited the return of Kaida. She never really was a big fan of him flying alone, but if the command let him do it, who was she to question it? She always thought the members of Command who gushed over his ability were going a bit overboard. Xalia would do anything if she could to make sure her sister did not end up a widow as a woman barely in her twenties. Kaida had a reputation for being reckless. Baraka was more interested in the results of the mission, but even he could tell from Kaida's body language that things did not end well.

"You're back. How was it?" she asked him. There was a sour look on his face and Xalia got the message quickly.

"It could have gone better. But I have returned like birds from the south after the winter." said Kaida, trying to put a spin on the situation. The truth was that Allies had shot down many of their bombers in the attack. With some help from their naval fighters, the tide quickly turned. Kaida was angry inside as he felt the command had wasted a valuable chance to end the war. Of course, he was upset at himself for not doing more. Of course, he knew he was going to get an earful from some of the other people he flew with. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been!

But Kaida wasn't about to let Xalia know that. He sure as hell wasn't going to let Sasha know. Kaida enjoyed her natural naiveté; though it wasn't necessarily a character flaw. How could anyone know the truth about the war save the men and women who fought in war?

Xalia scoffed though, which told Kaida that she didn't buy that. But Xalia changed the subject a bit.

"I never liked that you fly alone. It's just...it doesn't seem natural to me." said Xalia.

"Everything is subjective." said Kaida. Xalia was not happy with the statement. It sounded like something her cold older sister Portia would say in her attempts to rationalize everything.

"You sound like my older sister, the complete pragmatist that she is." said Xalia, the tone of disdain laced in her words. Kaida went and sat down on one of the chairs and let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, it seems we may have a fight on our hands after all. Those same men who toyed with us a day ago are still there. They gave me a run, but I took a few of their allies...more to add to my list of victories." said Kaida smiling.

"But you'll never be Baraka." said Xalia, almost mocking him.

"I don't care really. He got his back in the old war, now it's my turn." said Kaida.

"Speaking of turn...look who's here." said Baraka, pointing out the arrival of several planes. Xalia turned and saw the landing of several Rafale Ms. Those planes were rather rare in this area. The workhorses of the VAF were the Su-27 and Mig-29. Rafales were used by top shelf pilots. And the pilots that had just landed were among the very top of the top shelf. That was because only the aces could paint their planes in unusual ways. These planes were a mix of crimson and silver with a dragon symbol on it. Most of the Mephisto squadron members knew exactly who it was.

"Is that...is that who I think it is?" Makin said in amazement.

"Oh yes. Rahab Squadron is here." said Baraka.

"Wow, I thought they were on the stable western front." Xalia said. Molina turned to Ammon.

"It would appear that your struggles have not escaped the command's ears." said Baraka. Ammon shook his head in disbelief.

"Struggles? They were just setbacks. What do they know?!" he said. But he was always a bad liar. Everyone could see through his attempts to save face.

"There's no shame in admitting it. We all have bad days." Xalia said, her fluttering blue eyes staring right at Ammon. They were the same fluttering eyes that Sasha shared with her sister.

A tall, brown haired woman, who looked as if she were in her early thirties, emerged from the lead Rafale M. As it was quickly serviced by the maintenance crews, she lit a cigarette she took from the top of her flight jacket pocket and stuck it in her mouth. She put a pair of sunglasses she had in her pocket as well without taking the cigarette out. She exhaled a puff of smoke as he walked towards the location of Molina and his group. She and Xalia bore a resemblance, but the dividing line was shallow. There was an air of arrogance and stature to her; a full-figured woman that countered Xalia's lithe anatomy. Xalia knew who it was. Everyone knew who it was. This was Dorian Daydenko, the half-Versuan, half-Belkan, "Scourge of the North". That nickname was not particularly appropriate to this day and age as it referenced Verusa's dark and chaotic days twelve years ago. She went by her more contemporary nickname: "The Jawbreaker". Her younger sister was also a Belkan/Verusan hybrid from the Belkan incursions in Versua in the late eighties and early nineties.

Makin knew nothing about her personally. He knew she was a legend of the old days just as Baraka Molina, Valen Yancing, Gevin Malles, all the legendary names any pilot would know by heart. He knew they required respect beyond any ordinary ace.

"Commander Daydenko, it's an honor to..." Makin began.

But she nearly shoved past him. Xalia shook her head. Poor Zerran didn't realize what these legends really were like. And most of them were just unlikable people. With the exception of Molina, they were all rather surly, violent, and/or simply anti-social individuals. Xalia joined after the old war, but she knew that these aces were sketchy people. Molin knew the truth and he knew that some of these people would be considered war criminals or even terrorists in any other country considering the reputations of Valen Yancing, Gevin Malles and of course, Dorian. But considering their skills, there was no one else in the world one would rather have as allies. But they sure could make a person _very, very_ uneasy. Even Molina was occasionally unnerved by this woman; especially given her reputation.

"How's it going Dorian? Same old?" asked Molina. Dorian sat down, still inhaling the cigarette she had. She took it out of her mouth and let out a large puff of smoke.

"Not really. It's been awhile since I've seen any action. Now I'm here and I'm not wasting this chance." she said in her cold, raspy voice. Molina decided to warn her about the situation.

"One bit of advice, the Allies are not to be trifled with." he said. But even he knew that Dorian would know that without saying. He just couldn't think of anything else meaningful to say to her. Dorian didn't get along with most pilots for obvious reasons.

"You know, I thought about that. And I realized something. Your group has built up a lot of reputation. But these few defenders are no longer afraid of you." she said.

"We need to crush them before the Allies can mount a serious counter stroke." Molina said.

There was a long pause from Dorian. She took several more puffs of the cigarette in her hand.

"These Allies are hardened ones. We'll have to respond to aggression with aggression. I'll show them what fear really is..." she said, her own piercing green eyes staring right at the visage of Baraka Molina. She seemed determined to give Mephisto a lesson in who was really the dominant power in the VAF. The only question was...was it truth or Dorian's own deluded mind?

Next: Chapter 9: Jawbreaker


	9. Jawbreaker

Note: Had to start this one with a bit of humor. Can't be all negativity now can we? This chapter's kinda long, I know. The next one will be a bit lenghty as well, but I probably wait longer before I post the next part.

Chapter 9: Jawbreaker

_They say 'bend, don't break'. But everyone breaks; the question is: when you do break, can you take what's left and smack the problem in the face with it or not? - Peter Moore_

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

The Allies caught a serious break with the weather the day before. A group of vicious thunderstorms held up the Versuan ground offensive and halted the air attack. The Verusans also lost another Hawkeye to mysterious circumstances. Even with the striking power of the Dispater Cannon, something the Allies still knew little about, it couldn't change the deteriorating conditions on the ground. In light of everything, the Versuan Army Command ordered a withdrawal to Vijrundi to regroup for another attack. But the attack was only temporary. The Allies controlled the skies around Royelle now, and with the exposure of the scheme that General Percival and Dr. Zorba had concocted...it seemed that a defensive battle was unavoidable.

Unfortunately for Kei Nagase...this wasn't the immediate concern at the moment. As she awoke for the morning (David was already up), she got the surprise of a lifetime. She felt something soft and weird across her chest. She actually smiled. But that feeling was not her husband's fingers...as she hoped. She was only expecting to see a white blanket; she was not expecting to see a gigantic hairy _spider_ crawling across her chest. Upon witnessing this sight...Kei Nagase, Edge, Medusa...screamed bloody murder and literally fell out of the bed; the spider fell to the floor and scurried into the corner.

"Oh...my...God! What is that…thing?!" she shouted in a sheer panic. David by now had turned and he too was taken aback by the sheer size of the arachnid that had invaded their personal space. As soon she said that, a passing Lillian and Michael entered the room. David prepared to take an offensive action against this creature, but Lillian...she couldn't just let him kill this thing without provocation. She thought she knew what kind of spider it was.

"What the...wait! Don't kill it! Don't kill it!" she said holding him back. David looked at her with a shocked look. _What the hell are you talking about_, he thought.

"How did this get in here?!" Nagase asked. Nagase was never considered a tomboy by anyone. She was just a genuinely strong woman who was tough when she needed to be and soft and gentle the rest of the time. David thought she was a post-modern woman without a defined role; she was her own role. Now she was just a regular woman who was afraid of a spider.

"Oh...I know what it is...it's a White Wolf Spider. Come here you...let's get you back outside." said Lillian, gently picking up the hairy, eight legged creature and letting it crawl on her arm. David was a bit incredulous. But Michael rolled his eyes at the sight. He was probably never going to get used to dealing with this deranged woman. Kei actually squirmed a bit.

"Oh, figures the spider expert would know." Michael said. Lillian ignored the jibe.

"Don't worry Ava, it's not poisonous. It's not even aggressive. It eats insects for crying out loud! I think he liked you. They're attracted to...warm bodies." Lillian said, trying to contain a snicker.

"That is _not_ a spider! That's...a mutant from the North Belka nuclear crater zone!" said Nagase thoroughly repulsed by the creature. She'd encountered spiders before, but this one was just absurd. It was something that should have been in a circus sideshow.

Cormorance started laughing; so did Lillian, so did Michael...and so did David. She took a sly look at her husband.

"What?" she said.

"I don't know, just you jumping up screaming because a spider's on you; it's kind of funny." David said laughing. She was not happy at first...but if there was only one thing he and Chopper taught her...it was this: _lighten up._ So Kei did something she didn't ordinarliy do...she laughed at herself.

Of course, the fun didn't last long. Yesterday evening, the ever cryptic Lucien Jackson wanted a meeting with the couple. Apparently, it was to discuss the information only the three of them knew. Their meeting place was a tent on the outskirts of the base. The room was empty save Jackson and some radio, command and control equipment.

"Yes, I need a wacky on the tacky at Point Zero at the sunshine's back." he said over the radio.

David shook his head at this display by Jackson. The one thing David hated about these government special operation people was the ridiculous doublespeak they often used. Jackson noticed the pair entering the room.

"Oh, come in." he said. He turned around in the chair and got up, walked to the central area of the room and sat down at the table

"You wanted to see us?" said David, taking his seat.

"In light of the recent events, or rather your actions, it seems we've not been as threatened by this so called "Dis" as much as we thought we would. Of course, that will change assuming we manage to get inside Versua. Also, in addition to running this squadron, I have to keep liaisons with my intelligence command. So Paulo will still be effectively leading the squadron until otherwise noted." said Jackson.

"Okay." said David. The further away Jackson was from the squad the better.

"The reason I called you here is because unlike the others, you know more about this situation than they do. Now that you've seen it for yourself, I can relay this new information in confidence. What I will say must not leave this room." said Jackson.

"Okay...though shouldn't the allies know about this as well?" said Nagase.

"Not yet. There are reasons, but I cannot discuss them yet. The main thing is that we still don't know everything. We've done some more digging into the weaponization of the X-9. They've built some kind of receiver tower out of a massive, ancient fortress called Christos in South Verusa. The receiver amplifies the signal to a range of about a thousand miles. They appropriately call it Dispater. Christos has some kind of ancient, religious meaning to the Versuans. But that's all we know." said Jackson. He pulled out a small portfolio with maps inside.

"Those EA-6G Hawkeyes you brazenly shot down were the reason for the weapon's long range. They were amplifying the signal and extending the range using signals relayed from AWACS. It defies everything we know about the weapon. Zorba's been doing rather well with its modifications. I had no idea until recently they've done more with those X-9s than I possibly thought." continued Jackson.

"How did you find out?" Nagase asked.

"All of our spy planes were shot down or destroyed, but the Sotans did manage a successful spy flight. The image is a fragment, but at least those frogs are good for something." said Jackson.

Nagase gave him a nasty look. She never thought Jackson would be one for dropping racial slurs. But Jackson said it in a haughty, unremorseful tone. David could sense the venom, and made a play to change the subject by asking a valid question.

"I'm just curious, how did this country manage to build something of that magnitude when its Gross National Product is equal to that of Estovakia's..if that?" asked David. Lucien sat back in his chair a bit.

"Good question. It was mostly through illegal deals as we can figure. Third parties bought weapons at a discount and poached countries for soldiers, scientists, equipment conveniently after wars. A lot of Belkan war criminals came to this country after the Belkan War, so did the Eruseans, even some Sotoans during that 2008 civil war." said Jackson.

"Their air force is quite good; I assume they were trained by aces from those lands." said David looking away. He was still kicking himself for choking against that Su-37.

"Not quite. We've done some research on some of the people you trained with when you were in the air force...officially, six years ago. Did you know a sizable portion of your graduating class were from Verusa?" asked Jackson.

"I met some of them back at Hierlark. Most of them were junior cadets...some of them didn't survive the war. And you're saying that we could be fighting these same guys?" asked David.

"Oh yes. There were many Versuans who trained by us. Some were attending our universities and training alongside you. They probably even fought alongside you. Case in point, we found a dossier this guy, Ammon Kaida. This guy was attending the University of South Belka and was enrolled in the AROTC as part of one of these stupid foreign enrichment programs Harling was pushing. He was still in training when the last war broke out. But lucky him, he gets mono and misses the war. He finished his training and college education and went right back to Versua. He became one of their test pilots. That same man is killing our pilots. We only know this because he married to the youngest daughter of that bastard Masson." said Jackson. Jackson shook his head and started to let out a laugh.

"That Masson asshole actually has the nerve to call himself _Lord_. But I'll give him credit; he's got a lot of guts to call himself the Lord of anything. His daughters were also Osean educated. We believe it was Kaida who battled you in that Su-47; the one you fought so...lazily, Mrs. Sosabee...or Nagase rather."

"Yeah. Think so highly of Harling now? Yeah, that's great; a regime ruled by a war criminal unites a country with "peaceful" means, and have their pilots trained by our own...only to fight against us years later. Yeah, that was _real_ smart." Jackson said, calling upon his uncommon sardonic humor. Kei furrowed her brow.

"Are you a xenophobe?" she replied almost immediately. She was getting a bit tired at all the racial cracks he'd been making over the past few weeks.

"Excuse me?" said Jackson.

"It seems all of this stems from a personal agenda; the agenda being your hatred of foreigners." said Nagase.

"Go ask anyone in Rouge Park what they think of the Versuans." said Jackson. David could sense the venom. He decided to change the subject...again.

"On another note, I was talking to Cormorance earlier. He said something about people in Versua being resentful of Osean ways. So why would Masson be so open to our culture?" said David.

"Remember, he was serving elsewhere in Belka. He may be more open-minded; but that does not mean his generals are as well. Most of those guys are old school grease-balls. It hasn't exactly been roses and wine. There have been plenty of rebellions in the north and the south. But resistance operations have been quieted as of late.

"But enough of this banter, we've got a situation. Well, actually, we've got several things going on. We've got amphibious landings going on at beaches north and south of us with enemy raiders coming in and trying to interdict our naval patrols, we've got reports of suspicions activity in the south...just a host of stuff. Now that we actually have command and control we can start going on the offensive." said Jackson getting up and pointing to the map he had in the middle of the table. It was filled with markings and graphics.

"I need you," said Jackson pointing at David, "and Mr. Alou and Ms. Izzo and Mr. Ronde to fly down to the Kirasoc Beach south-south east of our position to support our buddies in the Navy. They've been getting hit by a mysterious group of enemy planes. Over the last two days, the Neptune lost nine planes to a group of enemies that showed up and shot them down with long range missiles and flew off. It didn't help that a majority were nuggets, but...I digress." Jackson said.

"And I need you," said Jackson pointing at Nagase, "to bring some additional class to this operation I have Ms. Elbe, Mr, Fisch and Major Scirro on. They will be on combat air patrol just north of Serses...I can't pronounce this damn town for the life of me. It's on the map. They'll fill you in. So...get moving. We'll try to get some more information out when we can." said Jackson. David and Kei wasted no time in getting up, but as they did...Jackson thought of something else.

"Oh, one more thing…those crimson planes, they've been rather quiet lately. They've only been spotted once though in the area. The foreign pilots seem to be rather intimidated of them." Jackson said.

"They may be the ones attacking our guys to the south." David said, connecting the dots.

"They were attacking to the west at the same time. Your friend, Captain Batiste, had a razor's edge encounter with them. She said she even saw them when the invasion occurred. We have no information about them except they have Su-37s. As far as we can tell, those guys are homegrown talent from their wars in the older times. But a lot of these Versuans have been fighting since our teenagers were seven or eight years old. This is quite the hardened breed." said Jackson.

"How did you find out this information?" asked Nagase.

"Well, I can't tell you everything. But let's just say that there are those in Versua that are not the least bit happy with all the _great_ things _Lord _Masson has done." said Jackson with a sly smile.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**0900 hrs**_

Baraka Molina was looking at two completely different women about seventy feet apart. Baraka looked at Xalia Masson who was doing the usual checks on her airplane. Baraka met Xalia during the time he was training pilots in the latter part of 2014. To him, she was an enchanting beauty; an angel that he was not quite worthy enough to lay eyes on. Xalia was never concerned with her own accomplishments. She only wanted to serve and protect her country; and if necessary, give her life to protect it. Baraka always respected that about her. When Mephisto was put together a year and half ago, Baraka insisted that she be put into the squadron. It wasn't exactly because of the relationship they had; it was because of that single devotion to everything else other than her own achievements.

Dorian Daydenko, on the other hand, was a totally different woman, much less a totally different pilot. Dorian was what some would call "tomboyish" in her ways. That seemed strange since she generally hated dealing with men anyway; men, she conceded, were mostly stubborn, useless people who only existed to fulfill fleeting pleasures of the flesh for the female race...the much smarter, more rational gender. But beneath her skin there festered something darker, something more evil. She wasn't concerned with anyone but herself.

Dorian's personality reminded Molina of Pharon's leader Cale Morala, another of the older veteran aces. Though Dorian's narcissism was nothing compared to Morala's. Dorian's was based solely on self-confidence. Morala's was based on his own personal vanity as well as his self-confidence in his flying abilities. Dorian was actually just more cold and emotionless than Cale Morala. There were many rumors about Dorian, ones a person on the inside like Molina, could assume to be true.

Dorian focused mostly on the people she was fighting. She studied them extensively because that's all she cared about; other than her own success for that matter. Molina looked directly at her plane. On the Rafale were four missiles underneath the plane and under the wings were two very long, large missiles. The other seven planes had them as well. He watched Dorian talk to her wingmen, who were mostly skilled pilots from the post-unification. Dorian never respected those she flew with. But then again, so few of the aces in Molina's company of heroes did either.

Dorian then walked over to Baraka's side of the airfield. Now, as usual was the time for Ammon Kaida to make his daily appearance at the "officer's club". He had just arrived when Sodel Sinora, Alex Haari, and Roni Laserth were finishing a game of Ratte. Ratte being a unique but rather popular Versuan gambling game similar to craps or "Dice" as it was known in other circles.

Ammon normally would have played a round or two, but he had more important matters on his mind. Ammon usually would go into the actual town of Vastos to buy odds and ends. But this time, he returned with something else. Dorian got there about the same time Ammon did, and as usual, gave him a cold shoulder. Ammon had briefly met Dorian once and she came off as a cold, woman with a bad attitude. He shook his head and proceeded directly to Baraka, who was sitting in his chair.

"Hey Commander...did ever you see this?" said Ammon to Baraka, which was a bit odd given the fact that the aces were a bit informal. He had something in his hand.

"What is it?" he said. Ammon handed him a white sheet of paper. It looked like a flyer of some kind.

"It was some flyer I found when I was shopping for some alcohol in town not too long ago." said Ammon.

"Don't buy the local stuff Ammon. I thought you had some more taste." said Alex, overhearing the conversation.

"Well they strangely don't have Chabian Merlot here so..." said Ammon. Chabian Merlot was a rather popular fine, relatively inexpensive, wine. One could find it by the bushel in most places.

"What the hell?!" said Molina in a higher voice than he normally used. He showed an approaching Xalia the paper as well as the others.

_**Death to the White Crows! Their hour of reckoning will come! Their House of Cards will fall! Long live the Southern Alliance!**_

"Southern Alliance?! I thought they were destroyed." said Sodel.

"I've only heard tiny things about them. I wasn't sure exactly what they were talking about. My father spoke of them like ghosts...as if they didn't exist." said Ammon.

"You were in Osea during the times they were active. The Southern Alliance was a terrorist group that spread all kinds of negative propaganda about the White Crow party." said Molina throwing the paper onto the desk.

"They had all these ridiculous rumors about innocent people being abducted. They accused us of using chemical and biological weapons against civilians. They were very rough. It took years to root them out. A Special Forces group caught their leaders and they were executed for crimes against humanity. For all intents and purposes, that was the end of Southern Alliance." said Iga Orace.

"After all your father did to enrich this place, they were so ungrateful to us. I'm not saying bad stuff didn't happen; I'm saying they had no right to trump up those accusations. They had no right using car bombs and IEDs to spread their message. They had no right for suicide bombers to take their fight to public officials." Molina said directly to Xalia. Xalia looked away.

"They're back though...but then again...in any war there will be its detractors. Like my sister." said Xalia.

"Sasha?" said Ammon. Ammon knew Sasha was worried about him, but she'd never outright said she was against the war.

"She was actually against the war. Well, mostly because she didn't know it was going to happen. I sense her conflict but..." said Xalia.

"But what?" said Dorian cutting in. Dorian's inclusion into the conversation made everyone feel a bit awkward. Dorian was just not the kind of person to fit into tight knit groups like Mephisto Squadron

"She's young, she's not a soldier like us. She doesn't understand." said Xalia defending her sister.

"Maybe she does and we're the ones who don't understand." said Sodel Sinora. Sinora was not a cynic by nature. He didn't do things because everyone wanted him to do it. He did things because he knew they needed to be done. That's what Molina liked the most about him.

"Whatever. Don't let your sister's head get filled with such mindless tripe. I'm looking forward to humbling their pilots and their foolish culture." said Dorian. Molina would have been the one to counter at this point...normally. But this time it would be Ammon's turn. Ammon respected his enemy now, and he knew Baraka did. Besides, he was going to be damned if this Dorian Daydenko was going to talk about his wife that way. But he wasn't going to immediately tell her off. He simply brought up a valid point; however, the result of which...would find him wishing he never said anything at all.

"Don't count them out. They've never lost a war for a reason." Kaida said.

Dorian gave Kaida a twisted expression. Molina's eyes opened in a rare show of emotion. He knew that Ammon had stepped over the line with Dorian. Dorian had a deep, entrenched hatred of the Osean people. Ammon was never accused of being a coward; after all, he flew _alone_ on combat missions. But the sad thing was that Ammon knew little about Dorian. But when she punched him in the face, he knew exactly why they called the "Jawbreaker." Because Dorian wasn't afraid of anyone, even if the person she cold-clocked was the son-in-law of their fearless leader. Ammon was a short guy, but he was tough and scrappy. Ammon popped up ready to hit her back. For a woman, she sure didn't act like one. But as the others held him back, he quickly realized that would be rather bush league of him to sock her one in turn. But she definitely deserved it.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Xalia said to Dorian. Molina looked at her disapprovingly. But even he knew not to mess with this woman. Dorian honestly didn't give a damn who she pissed off.

"Do I need to explain?" she said, almost arrogantly walking away with a smile on her face.

"That icy bitch...she's just a punk in a woman's body." said Ammon, angrily holding his jaw. He also turned away, not willing to confront her again. Because even though he didn't realize that he'd offended her when he said his piece, Kaida realized he'd got off lucky. He realized that those few rumors he heard about Dorian was true. Dorian had a serious attitude problem; her fuse was extremely short and punching someone in the face was the _least_ serious thing she'd done to people who'd made the unfortunate mistake of crossing her.

Baraka knew that some of those same people...wound up dead.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**1000 hrs**_

Paulo, David, Kei, Cormorance, Michael, Lillian, Andrew, and Polly were all walking to their planes. Now that the Allies were here in force, they could take it easy. There was no more worrying about being attacked on a daily or even hourly basis. The base was actually another stretch of highway and the tunnel was still the makeshift base. But things seemed better this time. The war had taken a 180 degree turn now.

"I feel something in the air today. I sense a big day." said Cormorance.

"Whatever. It's probably another milk run." Andrew said.

"I doubt it...I got an interesting feeling about this one." Cormorance replied. Cormorance walked away with a smile on his face. David turned to Kei as she was standing right next to him.

"Well, I'd better get going." said David, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Good luck." his wife said.

Kei kissed David on the lips and she walked to her plane. Lillian was standing behind him and it was...rather hard to describe what she was doing. She making this obscene gesture with her index and middle fingers, as well as her tongue and laughing afterwards. Michael merely rolled his eyes. But David realized this bizarre display was actually a term of affection from Lillian in that she was acknowledging what they had. Deep down, Lillian _desperately_ wished she had that. But her ex-boyfriend _had_ to be in that hotel with that hooker...

"Aww...you two are so cute together." she said, making kissing sounds.

"Whatever." said Michael. "Let's get this show on the road."

David sincerely hoped that they'd hit nothing on this mission. David still hadn't shaken the fact that he choked against those Terminators. But he hoped they were the planes that showed up if they were to hit something. He desperately wanted to redeem himself. And with each kill he'd made before today, it still didn't mean anything unless he could show up against the ones that mattered the most. He took a glance at Kei who glanced back at him. He could see the hint of a smile on her lips. For all the private moments of despair for Catherine, his sight of Kei's visage made this hellish internal and external struggle worth it. Suddenly, everything wasn't lost. He had to keep going on. David's plane was actually outside the hangar, so he turned and walked back out. But if he needed anymore motivation, a voice rang out over the activity.

"Good luck." said the voice.

He turned to his left and saw someone he wasn't expecting to see. It was a little girl. She didn't look older than ten or eleven. Her eyes were a darkened blue and her clothes were rather ragged. It was that _same_ girl he'd seen prowling around the dumpsters at Bethlehem Two Zero. She turned to run off again, when David stopped her by the hand.

"Wait...I saw you before. Who are you?" he asked the girl.

"Sueltana..." she said hesitantly. He looked her eye to eye.

"Thanks." she said in her broken Osean...and forced herself away from David's grasp. She ran into the field.

"Wait!" David yelled out to her. But she didn't stop and David couldn't go after her.

David wondered if he was losing his mind. He paced for a few seconds with his hands behind his head. Did anyone else see her? He shook his head and ran to his plane. He'd think about her later. _Sueltana_. The name burned into his mind. But the way she looked...she looked almost like Catherine did except the black hair. It was the eyes; the eyes burned into his mind. They were almost like his daughter's eyes.

_**Somewhere in Versua**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**1010 hrs**_

Mephisto squadron always flew as one wide group; eight spread to the formation. Rahab flew in a diamond with two planes high, low and to the left and right. Dorian was talking to her wingman at the time. She was feeling good about her chances now. Intelligence had fed her some crucial piece of information. She was going to need all the information she could get. After all, they sent her to the front for the sole purpose of testing these newfangled Hydra missiles. The Hydra were supposed to be an all around weapon to be used against air, ground and sea targets. The officer that told her about it was none other than Dimitri Ignis, the head of Special Projects Division. Special Projects Division was one of the most secret areas of the Verusan Military. She remembered when she and Valen Yancing got an honorable invitation to visit the secret B-12A Special Weapons Factory in the extreme south of Versua. She forgot the exact nickname of that facility. She could have sworn it was called "Demo...Gorgon" or something of that nature.

"We're getting a wire from intelligence. Something about a group called 373...ah, so they were the ones who were giving Baraka and his squadron trouble; interesting indeed." said Dorian.

"Why now? Are they heading for the battle again?" said her wingman, Derin.

"They believe that elements of their squadron are heading for the same place we are. The Allies have begun a second series of amphibious landings out of range of our tower's...power at Kirasoc. It would be the perfect time to test our new missiles." said Dorian.

Soon her wishes would all come true. It was going to be a cakewalk as far as she was concerned. If only things truly worked out that way...

_**Approaching Kirasoc**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**1040 hrs**_

David knew that Cormorance Alou was a sharp guy. He was a good man, a good father, good husband to Potenza...a woman who David believed, without argument, had the coolest name in the universe. Lillian was just an oddball. But the thing about Lillian Izzo was that she reminded David of all his wingman from the last war put together. She had a little Archer, Edge and Chopper in her. She was like the doting apprentice, meticulous historian, and court jester of the Razgriz all in one. Michael was just a surly guy who only wanted kills. David hoped there was another aspect to his personality, but that was it. He was a simple guy, but most Belkans were simple people anyway.

"So you're saying that it's a status symbol for Versuans to have a lot of kids. Well, no wonder they had overpopulation issues here." said Lillian.

"Man, I can't even stand kids and you and Potenza want more? Are you kidding me?" said Michael.

"Like I said, it's a class-status thing. It's kind of complex. But then again, the culture in Rouge Park is a bit confusing to outsiders." said Cormorance.

"It's based on history actually. Of course, that was founded in an age long, long ago when Versua was a kingdom." said Lillian, recalling her history books.

"Really? That crap hole called Verusa used to be a kingdom...like with knights and stuff?" said Michael.

"The ancient home of their power was the Casta van Christos Angelia. _The Home of God and the Angels_. Back then, there was a king who thought he was God. He was actually a priest before it was discovered he was heir to the throne. But the power went to his head and he became this "God-King". His name was Disyrus...I think." Lillian continued.

"What happened to him?" asked David.

"It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't try to make his people into slaves. The people rose up and overthrew him; rather violently. They pursued Disyrus to the ends of the land. They hung him in what became known as the Gorgon's End. The battle cry of the rebels was _Dasave Angelia Devio._..it roughly translates to one of three phrases: _Go be with the Angels_, _Dance with the Angels_, or _Go be with the Devils_...or something like that." said Lillian.

"How do you know all that? You're not a Verusan." said Michael.

"Well, _someone_ had to do their homework before they came here." Lillian said. David cut them off. They were getting into the battle zone. Below them was a massive marshalling area filled with equipment and personnel. In the waters, there were several Osean ships disgorging more men and equipment.

"We're over the beach now." David said. "Man, things are serious now."

"Okay, game faces on people." said Cormorance. Suddenly, another voice came in. A long missed kind of voice.

"This is AWACS, callsign Scion. Welcome to Kirasoc." said the voice cutting in. David had been missing the AWACS for the last few days. The AWACS had to be at least some 150 miles away.

_Hmm...no Thunderhead this time? I'm amazed,_ thought David.

"Roger, this is Wardog 3. The balance of our squadron is in the west, so its just us." said David.

"We've been getting a lot of air attacks in this region. Bandits simply come in, fire long range missiles and fly out." said Scion.

"Where are they coming from?" asked Cormorance.

"They come from different vectors in an arc from 200 to 160. But it's always the same eight planes. We've been unable to get a confirmed reading on what type of planes they are. But command's gut feeling is that these are naval based aircraft. It's highly likely, considering the Versuan fleet is closing on the Allied fleet." said Scion.

David had forgotten all about that. That Dispater Cannon had utterly devastated the Sotoan Navy and the Versuan Navy had torn through the remaining ones. They were getting closer by the day. Now was not the time to worry about that fact.

"Let's start there then." said David.

"We've got naval units up ahead." said Lillian. David could see a group of different Carrier based aircraft flying around the area on CAP. Then, David saw a rather familiar F-14 flash by. Could it have been...?

"I've got them. This Halo 2, to who am I speaking?" said a sharp voice on the other side of the radio.

"This Wardog 2, callsign Artemis, and these are my wingmen."

"Oh, well I'm Halo 2, callsign Howler, and these are Halo 1, Swordsman, and Halo 3...Vixen." said Howler.

"I'm surprised they reactivated that unit. I thought they'd long been retired." said Swordsman.

David nearly blew his cover as he let out a chuckle. He wanted to say hello to his old friend. He didn't know they were in this squadron...did he? Captain Snow was a good guy. He stayed in the service as no one directly linked him to the Razgriz. It seemed fitting. Snow was always the kind of man who seemed destined for a lifetime Naval career. He couldn't wait to tell Kei he was still doing fine.

"That's all they brought huh. But you guys have been here awhile, right?" said a female voice. That was, David figured, whoever Vixen was.

"Yeah, they must think very highly of us." said Michael.

"Well, you people came to the right place. We're here to lure out those bastards that have been picking us off the past few days."

"Their cowards...cowards all." said Vixen.

"Not really. It is a legitimate tactic. Now that damn electrical storm bull...that's just sheer cheating." said Howler.

"Did you guys get attacked by it?" David said.

"Oh yeah, once. It was hellish. A lot of those Yuke guys didn't stand a chance." said Howler.

"Hold on...I got something strange on my radar." said Swordsman.

David knew something was seriously wrong if Snow _thought_ something was wrong. He knew what he was doing. But there was no sign of radar warping or anything of that nature. Then it hit him...those sky raiders were coming.

_**Approaching Kirasoc**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**1048 hrs**_

Dorian was licking her lips now at the feast of Allied pretenders ahead. The closer she got the more she liked it. More and more she found herself liking the sound of battle and missile locks on the opposing side. Suddenly, everything became clear. Dorian's mind was free; it was killing time and she was sharp as a steak knife now. She was in paradise now. There was nothing like the time before a battle.

"This is Rahab 5, I've got a long detection on my scopes. There's a combined eleven targets in the group. Approximately six ships in the channel." said Jalus, another of her wingman. Dorian went to work immediately.

"They're hovering around the central area. Five, set your missiles to detonate over the eastern area. Everyone else aim the middle. Three, aim low and see if you can hit a ship or two." she said.

"Roger." said another one of the pilots in the formation.

David could feel it out there. He could feel the presence of something evil...something sadistic out there. He felt the cold touch of malevolence. He knew it was out there.

"Where are you?" he said quietly to himself.

"This is Scion. I've got reports of enemy aircraft at 145." said the AWACS.

"Are they hot?" Cormorance asked.

"No, they're moving methodically. That's strange. Still eight targets in the group." said Scion.

"Roger, we'll turn to engage." said Howler. "All Halo aircraft, follow us. Don't get strung out and stick together. We'll take these Versuo-punks down but good."

"That's what I'm talking about!" said Michael enthusiastically.

David moved his craft further ahead of the others. He felt the touch of evil, just as he felt the touch of good when his hand touched the skin of that girl Sueltana. It was not the feeling he got when he faced the red Su-37s. Then it hit him. That was the reason. The red Terminators were not the essence of evil. It was these mysterious planes coming to shoot them down.

"60 miles and closing." said Scion.

"I'm having a hard time getting them locked up...what gives!?" said Cormorance.

"I've got toll." said her immediate wingman Derin.

"Roger. All aircraft, fire your missiles." said Dorian.

The eight Rafales of Rahab let loose the large, spear like missiles they'd been carrying.

"Incoming missiles!" said one of the Halo squadron pilots.

"Wait...there are no infrared or radar locks. This is bizarre. I've never seen missiles like this." said Scion.

"Jink anyway! All aircraft, evasive maneuvers!" Swordsman

"Can we shoot them down?" said David.

"They have really small signatures. I can't..." Lillian said.

David knew he couldn't intervene with these missiles like he did against the missiles at the Mass Driver facility back during the last war. The radar signature was too small and they were coming in too fast to fire at. They'd merely miss. So David and his allies began evading left or right as eight long, spear-like missiles came over the battle area. David had juked to the right, along with Cormorance and as he was nose low...he looked up and saw one of the missiles _break apart _and explode in a thousand tiny pieces. It was almost like a burst missile of sorts! Another missile hit and split apart as well…exploding all around the allied planes.

"What the hell?!" shouted Michael.

"Halo 1?! Respond! Halo 1!? Halo 5! Respond!"

"What the hell was that?!"

"We've got more missiles inbound! Evade!" said Scion.

"This is OFS Atmos! We've got multiple hits on our ship! What was that?!"

Suddenly, another one streaked by the pair and exploded near the ground; a thousand tiny suns of destruction littering the ground with destruction. But David didn't see it.

"They're coming in hot now!" said Cormorance.

David was angry now. Now Snow was probably gone. He could have ejected, but there was no response from him. As the enemy planes approached, David snarled. It seemed all very wrong. It wasn't like with Chopper and there was a slow time for it to happen. Now, several planes were gone and it just happened like that. Now it was _personal_.

"Bastards! They let their country rot and yet they can afford these advanced toys!" David yelled out.

Dorian was excited now. Now she'd stirred up a hornet's nest. The missile experiment went perfectly. Now, all she had to do was finish the rest of these pretenders and she could call it a day. But it wasn't going to be that easy. She didn't realize it at the time...but she was going to find out what Molina really meant by his warnings.

Dorian found out immediately when an allied craft had her locked up. But this one wasted no time. He'd fired right at her forcing her to evade. He'd fired a radar missile at her, one of the harder types of missiles to evade. She had to drop chaff and maneuver nose low to avoid the missile. But David didn't give up. He quickly switched to another target by altering his tracking. David ended up choosing Rahab 8 as his new target. Rahab 8 didn't see it until it was too late and before he could even process the mental cognition to flip the chaff lever...he shattered into a million pieces. Just like that Rahab was down one plane. But Dorian was not concerned; she could lose Ellis. She went nose high to engage that plane...but he wasn't there. Dorian didn't panic. She expected this to occur in combat. She knew that her wingman, Darin, would come to her aid. Except Darin wasn't there. He was long dead before she even began the maneuver.

Michael Sacshenronde was the culprit. Michael saw Jonathan's attack and knew that this Sosabee guy was pretty good. Originally at Raven's Lake, he thought he and that wife of his were rather flaky people. But any assumptions he made were swept away at this display. All Michael wanted to do was go to war and do some damage. Now he had that chance and he couldn't waste it now.

"Damn...Dragon's my kind of guy after all." Michael said.

Michael saw the lead's wingman closing in to the merge. He then looped back to try to stiff arm Michael. But he fired a radar missile; that was a big mistake. Michael had an ECM pod on his plane. The missile went wildly to the left and Michael could counter with this AIM-9X Sidewinder right at the enemy plane. An upgraded Sidewinder against a vulnerable but advanced Rafale M equaled game over. That was the end of Darin. Dorian didn't know the circumstances, but she knew he was gone. But if she did know why it happened...she would have been mad at him for trying to attack a plane with an ECM pod with a radar missile. David though was more concerned with Swordsman's fate.

"Did you get any response from Halo One or Five?" said David.

"No...Nothing at all! There's no response from the transponders or the GPS...the bastards!" said Vixen in an angry, high octave.

David was beside himself. The fangs were out now. No transponders or GPS was the obvious indicator...Snow was gone. There was no crawling inside of his shell now. David violently turned back into the merge and launched a single missile at one enemy plane trailing smoke. Of course, Cormorance had hit that plane with his machine guns and was looking to finish it off. But David didn't care. He beat Artemis to the kill; he was not too happy.

"You got the one I locked up you bastard!" he said.

But he was still angry. He wanted more blood. He'd tasted it once and liked its flavor. He turned again. Two planes were after Spider's tail. Michael, inspired, fell in behind Dragon. One of the naval planes was descending nose low to engage them. He fired his own missile and split them up, but one still stayed on Spider's tail. David tracked it with his radar and fired a Sparrow, locking it up and following it

"Thanks!" said Spider. She was amazed at this display by Dragon. Back over Bethlehem, she choked a bit. She crawled inside her soul. But now, she was looking at this absolute domination. Dragon was twisting and turning and looping with the enemy. They were in full panic mode now. He was absolutely dominating these enemies. He'd taken down three by himself. Actually...make that four. After he downed the third plane, he immediately switched to the infrared tracking and fired two at two passing planes. One missed...the other did not. Lillian was incredulous.

"That's another one! Go, Dragon, Go! Take them all out!" she said. She sounded like a cheerleader now. But David didn't care. He wanted more blood. He wanted all of them gone from the skies. He wanted to show them who ruled the skies. He did it once...he was going to do it again.

Dorian had never expected to run into a buzz saw here. She knew these pilots were good...but not _this _good. Rather, it was their lead that was doing the damage. He'd cut her squadron in half _by himself._ Who was this man, she thought with an unusual emotion.

Most would call it fear. But Dorian never felt fear before; not even when she was a rookie. The word was not in her dictionary. However, she was sweating. Her breathing was labored and her heart rate was increasing. She'd rather die than acknowledge fear. But she couldn't lie to herself. Fear created weakness and she couldn't afford to be weak. She decided to cut her losses and live to fight another day. It just wasn't her day. Besides, the mission was a success. Those special missiles worked rather well. She ordered the other craft to flee the battlefield. It just wasn't her day; but even worse, she worried about the idea of never being able to live down this embarrassment. As she fled, the others celebrated. But the fire inside David's lungs and heart had to be stopped first. He slowed himself and gained control of his body.

"Okay...let's go home." said David.

Now he had to figure out a way to digest the terrible news about Captain Snow. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back any emotion. But there was little to hold now.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**1115 hrs**_

David waited for Kei's return from her mission in their tent. He'd heard all kinds of things about what happened on that mission. He'd heard that Dispater Tower had been used again. But he didn't know all the details. But at the moment, he didn't care. He had to break the bad news that Captain Snow, for all intents and purposes, was dead. David shook his head and looked at the ground. That man fought with the same intensity as the others. But death was neither discriminating in chance or time in this case. He'd stuck with them in those dark times during the last war. And now he was gone without a chance to even say goodbye. It all seemed very wrong. It was hard to say if Swordsman wanted it that way. Now it was impossible to tell now. Suddenly, Kei entered the tent, lifting up the flap. She looked almost heartsick and her face was a bit misty-eyed. There was no way she knew...did she?

"What's the matter?" David said.

"We were over Seresvachenov...this little city way east of here. We got a report that the ground troops there were being hit with constant air attacks. So we drove them away, and then..." she began. David wondered how she managed to properly pronounce that town's name and Lucien Jackson couldn't.

"What?" asked David.

"We missed it. That plane came back. And so did those electrical storms from that tower. But the interesting thing was...they weren't targeting us. They were targeting the city. They struck every single building they could. I mean, they had a military presence in them...but..." said

"Do they hate them that much? That they destroy whole cities with it?" said Kei, with a mix of emotions that did not include sadness. In her words were anger and confusion. She had a twisted expression on her face. He'd never seen this facial expression on her before. Something had twisted her soul even more now. Whatever it was, this incident in that city was the dagger. She said nothing; her body language revealed all. She was shaking at this point; her breathing was labored almost... There was a sheer maliciousness in her soul...in it was making David's skin crawl. He thought he had felt hate in that battle...what was inside Kei Nagase was something beyond hate. He only hoped it didn't turn into the dark malevolence he sensed before.

"Listen, I have some terrible news..." David began.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 25, 2016**_

_**1125 hrs**_

Dorian was angry with herself. She had to acknowledge it was fear that she felt. That was what made her the most upset. It was not the fact she lost five wingman...they could be replaced. This failure was going to be a serious hit to her reputation. And to a fighter ace...reputation was everything. She'd never live this down; she was sure to take a tongue lashing from General Ignis. But it was Mephisto that was the most worried. Dorian stormed past everyone, even Molina. She ignored their obvious questions. But Baraka did something a bit unusual. It wasn't like him to do this, but he had a rare opportunity for a parting shot at someone he didn't even like all that much.

"I told you." said Molina, his voice laced with an uncommon sardonic tone.

"Shove it." she replied with her own barbs as she walked away in disgust. How could this have happened? She had the advantage; she had everything in her favor! _How!? _As she walked away, Xalia walked up to Molina who was flanked by Iga and Roni.

"I wonder who it was that gave her such a hard time. I hope it's the same guy who pursued me. Now I know he was having an off day." said Baraka.

"Well, you may get your chance. High Command is coming here. We're going into some heavy stuff. The allies are massing for a showdown with our navy and more than likely he will be there. But it was funny...Alex said he was familiar to him. He said that flying style was a bit familiar...but who was he talking about?" said Iga.

"I don't know. He doesn't even know." said Roni.

"Like it matters. It won't matter if we don't win this big naval engagement. Our forces are taking a beating in Yuktobania. We missed our chance to put the nail in the coffin then. But now we have another chance. We have to make sure it goes in this time. If we lose the navy..." said Xalia, worried.

"I know...but I want to see him one more time. I want to see him for what he really is. Maybe I'll win...maybe I'll lose. We'll find out." said Baraka with a smile on his face. He looked towards the sky and a flock of birds sailed by. He wasn't much for idyllic settings, but it seemed fitting now. It was almost as if the pressure everyone else was under didn't apply to him. But High Command had a bit of optimism. Al they had to do was crush the Allied Navy and the war would be, for all intents and purposes, finished. Even if push came to shove, they had the Dispater Tower.

But for the regular troops at the front lines...the reality was much different. They were in full panic mode. The sheer magnitude of the battle to come was staggering. The ground war was now next impossible to win on the ground alone. They'd lost air superiority. The Versuans had wasted a valuable opportunity and they were paying the price. If they lost this epic oceanic duel in the Ceres...the war would never swing in their favor again...with or without the Dispater.

Next: Chapter 10: The Battle of the Ceres Ocean


	10. The Battle of the Ceres Ocean

Chapter 10: The Battle of the Ceres Ocean

"_When death happens...you almost never see it coming. But if you do...that's the worst way to die." - Jack Bartlett_

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

Kei Nagase was once intimidated by Polly "the Harpy" Elbe. Now she was just annoyed with her. From now on she was flying David's wing and only that. And if Jackson objected, he was welcome to...well…she wasn't going to say it to his face. The sad thing was that she was stuck with this woman on the last mission talking about her ability to tell the difference between Red Sun vodka and Yellow Wind vodka. The last thing she wanted to hear was her garbage. David had learned quickly. He only talked shop with the professionals like Cormorance Alou and Paulo Scirro. Officer rank differences had long vanished. Everyone in the squadron treated each other like equals now. Why wouldn't they? They were all elite and the toast of the Allied Air Force.

David was dealing with the disappearance of Snow. It was a terrible waste. But unlike David, who was uncertain, Kei knew that Snow knew that his death wouldn't be in vain. He wouldn't have wanted it any other way. David, as his alter ego Jonathan, cleverly brought up the topic in search for some answers. They were all in the briefing room, waiting on Jackson to show up. He was always fashionably late.

"So he was a friend of yours? I'm very sorry." said Paulo.

"He could have bailed out and his systems malfunctioned. We had to train for that." said Cormorance.

"But it's been two days. Surely they would have found him by now." replied David.

"In that freezing sea? There's no way he could have lasted that long." said Lillian.

Even Michael and Andrew were discussing their own issues. They were exchanging tales of dogfighting...mostly they were exaggerated tales and delusions of grandeur. But this one seemed more steeped in reality.

"So I come down like this, and that plane goes like that..." said Michael moving his hands to simulate the movements of the planes.

"No, I would have come up on him...like this. That fight would have lasted a lot shorter." said Andrew, doing the same thing with his hands.

But Kei Nagase had a different trifle. She was dealing with more of these bizarre stories from Polly Elbe. Polly Elbe in many ways was the female Alvin Davenport. The only difference was the content of the bulk of their conversations. Chopper talked about rock music. Polly had a Doctorate in "alcohology"; a term that Kei eloquently gave to her absurd knowledge of drinking.

"So I was in this pub in November City, and my all friends convinced me to do a Mind Racer..." she started. Kei groaned in her inner monologue.

"Whoa...what? Time out. What the...what's a mind racer?" asked a confounded Kei Nagase.

"Oh, it's this thing where you lay on your back with your head hanging off the edge of the bar table and they pour shots of lime vodka down your throat." said Polly. Kei looked at her with a strange look.

"...okay. Good luck with all that..." Kei said stretching her arms out and rolling her eyes. Polly seemed offended.

"What's the matter? You always seem so disinterested in my stories. They crack everyone up and you just sit there with no sense of humor." said Polly.

"Well...Polly. I'm not...I'm not like you obviously. See...I'm not a wino and I don't watch a lot of television or go out to pubs and clubs every chance I get. You're the kind of person who drinks and someone asks you why you're drinking and you say, '...Because it's Tuesday.' I'm just not that kind of woman." said Kei, not trying to be a bitch...but Kei had enough of these stupid stories of Polly and Andrew and Michael getting smashed in some Boston nightclub. She'd heard one too many stories of their nocturnal adventures. Kei was blushful talking to David about those kinds of events in private...much less in public. Polly shook her head in disbelief.

"So you're a moralist? You never want to risk anything. No wonder Jonathan likes you. You're the good girl; not the girl next door." said Polly, almost challenging her. Now Kei was offended. She may have been a quiet, private person my nature. But she was no prude. Now Polly was asking for it.

"Well, I'm _not_ as moralistic you may think." retorted Kei.

"Oh, come on; then what are you? You're so uptight. You, with all due respect, never have anything interesting or funny to contribute anything. We're at war so I'm determined to have some fun with it. It takes my mind off the terrible stuff that goes on. Don't you have something funny or crazy story to tell. Just whisper it to me. We're all family. I'm not saying a thing; my lips are sealed." said Polly. Kei shook her head. Maybe she'd been wrong about Polly. If her inappropriate humor was what got her through war, then maybe Kei shouldn't have been so quick to antagonize and dismiss her. But Kei still was determined to put this Boston "Alcohologist" in her place.

"Okay. You asked for it." said Kei, looking off to make sure David wasn't listening. She spoke softly, "_He's going to kill me if he finds out I told you this but…_It was about three years ago, we had a major storm that hit our district. We'd lost power for two days. We're in the house and we're sweating, we're hot, and it's _miserable _outside… We were kinda bored at playing board games for the 34th time. So...I'm looking at him, and he's looking at me…" said Kei a bit sheepish. Polly was all ears now. Kei signaled with her index and middle fingers to "come closer". She spoke even lower.

"Just between us girls...I told Jonathan that I wanted him to..." she began to say right in Polly's ear.

What Kei said next nearly caused Polly's eyes bulge open and jump out of her chair in amazement. She almost dropped the water bottle she held. Hearing something like that would not have surprised her as much if it came from say, Andrew. But to hear something of that nature from this Ava Sosabee, a person she thought was soft and flaky like her husband...Ava had just _earned_ Polly's respect. She shook her head in even greater disbelief. It sounded made up...but it was all too real.

"Whoa...are you kidding me?! You two...m_y apologies_. Good lord. I'll admit, I have _some_ being drunk stories but...wow. If was more of a cynic, that would sound fake but..._wow_." she said flabbergasted. Suddenly, Lucien Jackson and a few officers entered the room.

"Alright people. Enough of the stupid bar stories. We got a major problem." said a rather harried looking Jackson. He went in front of everyone in the briefing room and took out several portfolios; several officers were flanking him.

"Thank God." Kei said to herself.

"As many of you know, the Versuan Navy is attempting to sweep our forces from the Ceres. Their goal is to gain control of Tiger Naval Base and suppress Murska Air Base. From there, they can threaten the West Coast of Osea. We cannot allow this to happen. Their navy out numbers us about two to one. We're looking at about 112 ships against our 69. We've been weakened by the constant attacks by the Dispater Tower." said Jackson. Jackson had briefed the squadron earlier about this receiver.

"But, we are out of its range..." began another officer.

"...so it can't hurt us." interjected Andrew. Jackson pulled up the screen of a massive, unusual looking ship. David winced. It looked like the Scinfaxi with a battleship mixed in. He looked straight at "Jacks".

"Not so fast, Mr. Fisch. This picture was taken by a Sotoan recon craft. Their flagship is the VRS Ajax; the Ajax is equipped with multiple AA stations, SAMs, anti-ship missiles out the wazoo, battleship cannons...the works. Here's the kicker: the Ajax is actually equipped with an _X-9A module_."

Everyone was dead silent...almost. Alou was visibly angry. _Not again_, he thought. _Those_ b_astards can't drop a dime onto their poorest, but the Navy gets lighting rods. Great._

"The enemy has also managed to get a hold of those strange missiles that were fired at Mr. Sosabee's contingent several days ago. AWACS have given a call sign for it. If you hear 'Osiris Inbound', you move your ass." said Jackson. He then pulled up a screen indicating some kind of naval order of battle on the large computer screen.

"We only _just_ found this out and thank God we did. Needless to say, it's the primary target of our attack. You're going to be supporting an attack on this craft. It's going to be a madhouse up there; Howell's sending the entire Allied Wing from our base. We're not asking you to destroy it. We just need you to help the Navy guys punch a hole in their fighter cover and flak so planes from the OFS Corona can attack it proper." said Jackson.

"What about the X-9? Do we have to...just weave through the lightning bolts? What are you, nuts?" said David, doing his best impression of Chopper. Kei let out a chuckle.

"Good point; glad you brought it up. With the weather hampering operations over the past two days, we had just enough time to put these special ECM pods on your craft. It won't help that much, but it's something. They broadcast a special signal to counter and block the ones from the X-9 on the Ajax. The thing is...to our advantage, this unit is independently operated. Intelligence has confirmed that it was a slightly different X-9 project developed by the Verusan Navy guys to their specs. The Tower can't tell it what to do." said Jackson.

"This is the reason you were brought into this unit. Now it's time to earn your money's worth." said Jackson with a smile on his face. "We're calling this Operation Juno Tide; expect _heavy_ aerial and naval resistance. We expect the planes of most of their aces will be there, so stay sharp. Understood?" said Jackson. He was met with nods and the grumbling of approval.

"Then let me make this perfectly clear ladies and gentleman. If we lose this battle...the war is over for us. This is not some enemy that's going to roll over and die. They will give you _everything_ you can handle. We have to do the same." said Jackson coldly.

David rolled his eyes. Did he not think they knew that? Did Jackson forget who he was dealing with? David always brought everything he had…and so did everyone in the squadron as well.

_**Caste van Alde**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0840 hrs**_

William Masson was stunned at the reports his generals were giving him. They were a mixed bag of the incredibly optimistic to rather grim. The ground troops were being pushed back, the air force had lost air superiority over Southern Yuktobania but the Navy had torn through all opposition and was approaching the last obstacle before it could lay claim to the Ceres. That was where the balance of the war would be decided: the dividing line between the Ceres and Pacific. But it wasn't the opposing reports that gave him scares...it was the reports of the resurgence of the Southern Alliance.

In the beginning, Southern Versua was ruled by a large collection of Mujara, or warlords. The Mujara were fierce opponent of the North, who favored a more fascist regime. Extreme left versus extreme right; it was not a harmonious relationship. The Mujara's culture was often compared to the culture of the Northampton, North Point's or Boston, Osea's fiercely independent and intra-trusting ethnic culture. They protected their own, often violently, and were rather territorial. They were divided, yet united. This culture was unacceptable under Masson's vision. Masson wasted no time in doing everything he could to annihilate the old-school tribal mentality. The Southern Alliance grew out of their old mind set. Masson had lost more men putting down the rebellions from the Southern Alliance than actual offensive operations against the Communists and the former country of Clavis. And now they were back...

"Why was I not informed sooner of this?!" Masson said angrily holding up the resistance propaganda flyer. Surrounding him in the castle conference room were Generals Ignis, Percival, Rossi, along with Portia Masson and Dr. Zerran Makin and Doctor Zorba. He slammed it on the table.

"Well, the pilots at Vastos found it; your son in law to be exact. But for whatever reason, the pilots didn't send it through the proper channels until now. We're still trying to figure out where the lag took place, but better late than never." said Ignis.

"You wanted to investigate it yourself." Zorba interjected.

"No..." Ignis denied. Percival laughed. He knew exactly why. This was once Ignis' duty when he was a part of the old Orchid Division before it was shut down.

"I think yes, yes. I'd have no problem with it Dimitri. Problem is...it's not your job anymore." said Percival.

"I'd admit that sometimes I find myself longing for the old days but..." said Ignis sadly. Ignis was now in command of the Special Projects Division. It was a great promotion, but Ignis often missed the thrills of the fun, old days of espionage and spy work.

"Regardless. How is the battle shaping up in the fleet?" Masson asked.

"I have the Admiral's report. Weather has been an issue the past two days. We have approximately 112 combined ships to their 69. This will be a rout. As you know, we put one of our modules on Hildegarde's flagship. The only problem is that we can't control it from our tower because it's a different design that Zorba and General Ignis worked on together. We didn't have time to properly calibrate it to our tower. It's a gamble but I trust Admiral Aurelius will use it wisely." said Percival.

"Don't be so overconfident. We can't afford a loss now. There's no mistake we outnumber them...but as we've seen they fight well with their backs against the corner." Masson said.

"Commander Daydenko probably knows that without saying. However, the test went well." said Ignis.

"What was the purpose of that attack anyway? Sending them all alone like that?!" said Portia, rather upset.

"I wanted to test our new AIM-900X Bursting Star Missiles. They were a success...albeit a rather costly one at that." said Ignis.

"I've never heard of those. Why wasn't I informed of this project?" Portia said.

"I would have...but the problem is...it's not your job anymore." said Ignis repeating Percival's words. Portia looked _steamed_. Ignis and Portia never really got along. But then again, Portia never really got along with anyone. She was tapped to be the next ruler should something happen to Masson. But Lord Masson was a healthy for a man in his lower to mid fifties.

"Zing." said Percival.

"Usually, we don't share the results from our laboratories with non-cleared personnel but..." began Ignis.

"You mean the Demogorgon Facility?" Masson replied. The Demogorgon was only known to select few people. Rossi winced a bit. It was the first time he'd ever heard that name. And yet, it brought up so many dark memories of the old war; things he could not remember without shuttering.

"It's more than a facility. Anyway, what do you plan to do about the combat losses in the 1st Wing?" said Ignis to General Rossi. Rossi never liked to get into the squabbles on the inside of the ruling class. He kept to himself and did just fine.

"I'm moving Mephisto up along with the 4th and 18th Squadrons to support Hildegarde's attack on the Allied Fleet. I'm pulling Rahab back, but Bel and Hecate will be unable to participate. There was a major accident San Lorana. The airfield's in flames. It was a chemical..."

Suddenly, a single soldier burst into the chambers.

"Sir, I apologize for interrupting...but there's been an incident in Vastos." he said.

"What?" Masson asked. Masson knew his favorite daughter and his son in law were all at Vastos. He only hoped that nothing had happened to them.

"There was an explosion at the airfield. Your daughter and few others were injured." the soldier said.

"What?!" Masson shouted in total confusion.

"She's alright. She's suffered some shrapnel wounds; easily recoverable. But she'll be grounded for the recoup and..."

"What happened?!" Masson demanded to know.

"We're not sure. Colonel Cero is conducting an investigation." said the nervous soldier. Masson took a minute to breathe. Xalia was okay. Masson did notice something strange about Portia though. Her reaction was...strange. It seemed like repressed disappointment. But then again, Portia was just being Portia.

"All right." said Masson, tight-lipped, "Portia, I'm putting you in charge of investigating this resistance movement. Put me in contact with Aurelius. I want a full status report on the attack. As for you Zorba, I want your next report about a wide range of the Dispater by 1800. Percival, I want to make a full time observation of the battle ahead. I want updated reports every ten minutes once the battle is joined. And get Prime Minister Graysel back here as soon as possible. I need to have a word with him. This meeting is adjourned." ordered Masson. As everyone began to file out of the conference room, Masson walked behind Dr. Makin and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Dr. Makin." asked Masson.

"Sir?" said Makin, turning around rapidly.

"With my daughter out...do you think he may get pushed up?" asked Masson, speaking of Makin's son, Zerran Jr.

"I hope. I really hope he does well if he does get slotted in to Mephisto." said Makin. Masson put his hand on his shoulder and walked out. One thing William Masson liked about people like Makin was that, unlike Percival and Morales, they were realists. They didn't get caught up in hopeless optimism.

Makin left with a grave sense of worry. His son was only about twenty one. He was a very young man to be thrown to the wolves so early. But he had confidence in the skills of that legend Baraka Molina.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0900 hrs**_

As long as Xalia could remember, she knew that the one non-luxury she never took for granted was a bed. It sure took the pressure of having to feel those painful burn wounds along her thigh and temple. She couldn't remember how it happened. She was just walking along and BOOM! One of the boxes exploded. A few of the hangars were damaged. But luckily, no one was killed. It may have been some malfunctioning ordinance. But she had plenty of time to think about it while she was on that hospital bed. Baraka was at her bedside, but she felt embarrassed because she knew she was going to be fine.

"She'll be alright. The wounds were relatively minor considering what could have happened if that pillar wasn't in the way." said the doctor.

But, the pain wasn't that bad. It was not debilitating. She could get up and walk. Plus she knew the most important thing: there was a mission coming up and she wasn't going to miss it for the world. She wasn't going to miss flying alongside Baraka again.

"Well, if that's the case...can I get out of here?" she said. It was stupid to say. She knew she was in too much pain to fly...but she was going to tough it out. Sasha would have folded like a lawn chair under pain... but _Xalia Masson_ wasn't going to do it.

"Absolutely not; this kind of flesh injury requires a few days to recover. Don't worry. You'll be back to your old form in a few days." said the doctor trying to reassure her.

"...I guess." said Xalia, almost defeated. She winced a bit, giving it away. Baraka put his hand on her shoulder. Baraka knew he didn't always need Xalia...he just wanted her there. Xalia needed Baraka more than he needed her. She just didn't know it.

"It's too bad I can't hunt your nemesis with you." said Xalia with a pained smile.

"Don't worry. I'll get him for you. We'll get him...we'll get them all." Baraka said. "Nemesis" referred to that demon of a pilot that made mincemeat of Dorian's unit by himself.

"Makes me glad to hear it." said Xalia.

Baraka walked out of the hospital room and was flanked by Sodel Sinora, Iga Horace, and Roni Laserth. They all walked outside the facility in the open morning sun.

"So now what?" said Iga. Iga Horace was a damn good pilot. He, like Xalia, was a rather unselfish pilot as well. It was someone Alex Haari could learn from. Iga was someone everyone could count on to watch their backs as a squadron.

"We got to put someone in on the eighth. I want you to fly my wing today." said Molina. Iga looked surprised.

"Really? I guess I should be honored to fly closer to the legend." he said jokingly.

"You know me...no sense in that talk." replied Baraka.

"But who? Dasto? Makin?" asked Sinora.

"Makin is a good choice. He's a good pilot." said Laserth. Laserth was a good evaluator of talent for the squad. He helped Molina select the reserve pilots.

"He's too young though." said Sinora, a bit cynical.

"He's the same age you were when you first started." Roni replied. Molina needed no more convincing. He saw Zerran talking to Alex some twenty feet away.

"Fine. Zerran!" called out Molina. Like a trained dog, Makin ran over to him.

"Sir?" he asked.

"Xalia's going to be out of commission for a few days so I'm tapping you to fly alongside Captain Laserth." said Molina simply. Makin's eyes lit up. He'd been waiting for this chance for what felt like months.

"Thank you sir! I won't let you down." he said excited. Molina touched him on the shoulder, trying to calm down his jubilation.

"Just remember, I don't want you to impress me. Just put in a solid day's work and you'll come home alive. Don't do anything stupid; and don't you worry about the complicated things...let me do that part." said Baraka. Zerran nodded. The last thing he needed to do was do something stupid. He had his own potential and his father's reputation on the line. It's too bad his mother wasn't alive to see this...

"Sure thing! I'll get ready now." he said. The others began to walk away as someone tapped on his left shoulder. It was Ammon Kaida. Kaida would be going up with the others...but his plane had suffered some damage from that explosion and it wouldn't be fixed in time for the attack. To make him angrier...he had just got back from a mission.

"I heard what happened...and I can take a guess at who was responsible." said Ammon. Ammon had a bit of a different interest in this incident.

"Look, I'm going to into battle without my full squadron available and you want to discuss conspiracy theories? No thank you." said Baraka. Ammon snorted.

"This is not conspiracy. It's a legitimate concern." he replied.

"Look, Ammon...if I may make one word of caution, once you get involved in these rumors and whatnot, you're going to wish that you never got involved. There's a lot of things I know about this conspiracy business that would scare you if you knew the truth; things that not even I can't take to a confessional booth." Baraka said, looking at Ammon in those glassy eyes.

"Whatever." said Ammon. He wasn't buying it. He always knew Baraka knew more than he let on.

"I just got back from a solo reconnaissance mission for Navy intelligence. Now, if _I_ may make one word of caution," said Ammon, mocking Baraka a bit, "...the enemy's response will be vicious. Take care now."

And with that, Ammon walked away. But Baraka wasn't worried. He was more concerned with that Osean pilot. He wanted to take him apart. He wanted to send him a message: Mephisto had the hegemony in the skies...not them.

_**Somewhere in the Pacific Osean**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**1220 hrs**_

Grand Admiral Aurelius Hildegarde was the worst traitor in the history of Sotoa. During its civil conflict of 2008, a mass amount of corruption in the Sotoan military was exposed. In a panic mode, the entire military underwent a "clean house" operation. Hildegarde was exposed when many of the skeletons in his closet were laid bare. Hildegarde had long been planning his coup d'état against the King and the Royal Family. He'd also orchestrated the assassinations of several top Naval brass members. Rather than face arrest for some of the horrifying things he'd done and had done on his watch, he and his 5th Fleet, the largest in the entire world at the time, declared war against the Kingdom. In a bloody civil war, Hildegarde was defeated and fled to Versua in 2009. Hildegarde was soundly beaten, but the cost had been high. Sotoa had been set back ten to twenty years militarily. Hildegarde's philosophy was what impressed Masson the most. He often compared the Admiral to himself. Hildegarde's only weakness was that he was an old school guy; however, he was willing to embrace new concepts. The only problem that Hildegarde had was a lack of carrier fighters. He had three super carriers. The Oseans alone had _twelve _super carriers.

The light carriers were also a threat. But he'd sunk two of those off Summer's Island with little effort. Now this massive enemy carrier force was blockading the entrance to the Pacific. They probably were not going to commit their entire force...but it would be a sizeable amount. It was going be a classic battle of different combat philosophies. Battleships, carrier support and anti-ship missile support against a massive wave of carrier fighters backed up by those new, damnable ZV9 Long Harpoon missiles the Oseans used. But he had the secret weapon. He had the X-9A Dispater Unit. He had the Star Bursting Missiles. This was going to be rather fun.

"Are our forces in position?" asked the Admiral to his first mate.

"Yes sir." he replied.

"Prepare to spread to wide battle formation." he said.

"Sir." said his main communications officer.

"Have the air forces been made aware of our approach?" asked the Admiral's first mate, Dalton, to the radar operator.

"Yes sir. All available aircraft are being launched. ETA forty minutes." said the operator. Aurelius smiled. One thing that had haunted him for years was what could have been.

"Prepare to launch all carrier aircraft." said another officer.

"X-9 preparation is complete." said an additional officer.

"The readiness is all." said the Admiral with a big smile on his face.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**1250 hrs**_

Air raid sirens started. Everyone and their mother came running out of their hangars. And yet, David was paralyzed. He actually found himself looking for that kid. He hoped that Sueltana would show up again. It tore him up to see that kid possibly all alone in this war torn country. He owed it to her to help her. But everyone was urging him towards other affairs.

"It's the big one!" he heard Michael call out.

"Come on! Let's go!" Polly called out.

David finally got into his cockpit...and saw something taped to the instruments panel. It was a piece of paper with Yuke words on it. David, thanks to Kei being a polyglot, had taught him a great deal of Yuke. He looked at the letter and he made the preparations to take off., he turned off his radio and read it aloud.

"_...you asked for my name. You weren't like the others I've seen from the west. You seem...strange. Maybe you'll tell me your name. But your friends don't seem all that happy. They seem very worried. They are scared like I was. When I saw you...I wasn't scared. But...everyone around me is getting scared. I think I'm getting scared again...so what's your name? I'll wait for you." - Sueltana Devia_

He had a first and a last name. And he had this crudely written letter. It gave him some hope. In the moments after his daughter had died, he felt like dying in that sea. There was no point in living; to hell with life if that was living. But now, for the first time...revenge was replaced by hope. But the hatred was still inside his heart. But the hope was there. As he got into the air, he did something bizarre. He put the plane on auto pilot, took off his gloves, pulled out a pen and wrote-spelling out the words- "Hope" on the fingers on his left hand…and writing "Hate" on the fingers of his right. He put on his gloves again and took the auto pilot off just as Kei flew to his wing. Many tense minutes past as the sky filled with allied craft.

He looked left and Kei blew him a kiss, even with the helmet on. But she'd done it before so it didn't surprise David. He merely returned the favor. Beneath them lied the dividing line between the Ceres and Pacific Ocean. There was a long period of time before either David or Kei spoke. Around them, everyone was chatting among themselves. But they both remained silent. Suddenly, the green radio light came on and everyone's attention was diverted.

"This is AWACS Scion, to all scrambling Allied aircraft. We've received reports that the enemy battle fleet has begun combat with our own ships. Carrier fighters have been launched and are currently engaging the enemy. However, we've received a report of the enemy launching nearly a hundred regular air force aircraft to intercept our fleet's forces. Shoot them down and maintain air superiority over the general area. Everyone is aware of their respective assignments. We expect more usage of their mysterious Dispater weapon so watch your backs. Keep an eye out for radar warping. All units...sound off." the distanced command aircraft said.

"This is Wardog unit. We're all here." said Paulo.

"This is Echo Squadron. All units standing by."

"Voskod Unit on station."

"Mercury Unit, standing by." David heard the rather gregarious Serena Batiste say.

"Ganymede Unit, on station and standing by."

"Greyhound Unit standing by."

"Viper Squadron on station."

"Moya Unit standing by."

"Wisna Unit standing by."

"Europa Squadron present."

Most of the units were only a few planes each. There were only three true and stocked squadrons; counting them and the units all together, only seventy eight aircraft were in the air. The size of the allied contingent was big. It was the largest David had ever been in, even when was Blaze. But it paled in comparison to what the enemy was bringing to the party.

"Roger. All Allied Units present and accounted for. We're ready for battle." said AWACS.

David didn't see it. But up ahead, the enemies were getting handled by the Navy pilots. It wasn't like before. These pilots were hardened, well-trained units. The Versuan Naval Air Force was, in reality, a shell of what the Osean Naval Air Force was. The VAF had launched aircraft to try to clear the skies of enemy aircraft. But much like the Versuans on land, they ran into a buzz saw of Allied planes led by experienced formation leaders like Halo 2.

"This is Halo 2. All aircraft continue the attack." said Howler. David had consulted Howler before over the phone thanks to a connection in the mechanics. There was no sign of Snow...and the "Hate" hand on his body became tighter around the controls. The "Hope" hand became significantly looser.

"Wow...their just dominating these guys. Maybe they don't need help after all." said one of the allied pilots.

"Qa trio...those men have some guts." said Treya, or Serena Batiste.

"Scion here. Additional Air targets are entering the battle space. Right on time. Vector 010, eighty miles."

"This is Red Crown. All allied units turn to intended vector. Don't waste anything on these guys. Move to attack at BVR." said the commanding lead from Greyhound Unit.

They were some 100 miles over the ocean. Beneath them was the endless sea and somewhere out there was the enemy fleet. Scion had indicated in the hustle of action that the enemy was probably using some sort of ECM jamming. Suddenly, wave after wave of missiles began to scream towards them on the radar screen. Part of it was distorted because of the jamming ships, but they could see them.

"Whoa!" Michael yelled.

"They want to play BVR too!" said Cormorance. "Let's give them something to think about!"

Meanwhile...

Baraka was leading the attack, but it was some of the other units had taken it upon themselves to shoot long range missiles at the enemy. He led the large flight, but wasn't in command of it. He was disappointed that Hecate was unable to join them. Adon Mora was a great man to have in this kind of situation. He wasn't a long range fighting man. He was an old school, close in, in-your-face, 'knife fight in a phone booth' kind of pilot. He probably would have sent Zerran to Hecate, but their rosters were full. Still, Baraka still felt the pangs of Xalia's absence. Maybe he was wrong about needing her less.

"They're out there...sixty miles." he said to his men.

"Don't worry Zerran. Just stick to your training." said Horace.

"Yes sir." Makin said.

Suddenly, one of his craft made a visual contact of the Allied aircraft. Recalling his intelligence reports, one of Mephisto's aircraft chimed in.

"It's them again! The one with the dragon emblem is the one you want Commander." said Barus Rothe. Rothe was always good at pointing out specific units, particularly important ones at that. Molina smiled beneath his helmet.

"It's time to put them out of commission!" Molina said.

Some of the ships began to launch anti-air missiles as well. But the Navy pilots were in the middle of their own battle; they were distracting some of the AA fire as puffs of black smoke filled the air above the fleet. Most of the fleet was bunched around

"We've got heavy ECM from several targets in the center group. It's probably where the Ajax is. Take them out or we'll be in trouble when the strike planes arrive. ETA: six minutes."

David had begun his attack when more missile alerts sounded. The ships below had begun locking on to them. Everyone began dodging the first series of missiles that were bearing down on the allied contingent. Everyone began deploying flares, chaff, and just generally tried to get the hell out of each other's way. David had done his own defensive maneuvering and righted his airplane as Kei flew into the slot. Kei could see wakes of the ships below...and the white streams of death trailing the missiles being fired in their direction.

"Where's the Ajax?! I have no visual!" said Cormorance.

"I see her! It's there at point 355 on my nose. She's a beauty...too bad we're going to have to put a hole in her." Lillian said. David couldn't see it very well, but that massive ship was there. It was incredible in scope. It filled the sky with flak and anti-air missiles from it and a lot of the other ships.

"All planes, pick your targets and fire at will." said Paulo, issuing orders.

David then looked up as another wave of anti-air missiles came screaming in...Only to find those damnable red Terminators spread out across the sky. But, he wasn't going to crawl inside of himself. He was going to fight them head on. If they wanted to play that game...David was game. He fired two AMRAAM missiles at a range of about 40 miles then pulled up, a wise maneuver as everyone else thought he was going down. But he was frustrated as the passed by harmlessly. They must have had ECM pods as well. Molina knew it was him; just the way he flew gave it away. He ended up flying right past him.

"Damn. So it's him again after all. Welcome back...I've missed you." said Molina.

"Wow, he's fast. Impressive." said Makin. Makin was almost completely floored by the chaos around him. But he focused on his duties and stayed on the tail of his leader as he'd been taught.

Alex saw the pilot and his wingman perform a rather high-G turn that looked as if they skipped off the side of an invisible wall. Then as everyone turned to engage them, they were gone. They'd performed another set of high-G Turns and they were right behind Mephisto again! Alex could have sworn he seen this before...

"Wait a minute...I've seen that before...but where?" he said out loud.

"Alex, reminisce later! Mephisto 1 to all planes, split by two and engage any craft at will. No one slays the Dragon but me." said Baraka.

Alex said nothing...but he was livid. This was not like Molina. _So what he'd found an equal_,_ does that make him better than me...than the rest of us_? Alex knew the answer to that question. Hell no. It wasn't the way Mephisto did things. The Commander was singling out that one plane. _To hell with Molina's orders_, thought Alex.

David could see the red planes there...but he wasn't going to solely face them. There were other planes out there...other planes that needed to be removed. Suddenly, he was being locked up...but what surprised him was who was doing the locking. It was Michael. The lock went off, and Icarus was a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, my fault. I was...whoa! Where that plane come from!?" he shouted. He said that in response to a pair of streaking red planes that passed right by him. It was Alex and he wasn't going to be denied.

"I got you!" he said.

David sent a hand signal to Kei after he said to look left. He only held it for a second, but she saw it and knew what to do. They split a bit and slowed down after avoiding a set of missiles from Mephisto 5's plane. Both of the Mephisto planes zoomed past them and they locked them up and fired Sidewinders in turn. Alex was forced to dodge. He went to full after burner after they'd turned away so he and Sodel Sinora performed high-G turns of their own and were suddenly facing the Wardog pilots.

David knew what to do. He went up, and Alex followed. He was almost in range and he almost fired at a longer range but the man and woman formerly known as Blaze and Edge...fired first.

"No, he's mine Alex! Back off." said Molina. Alex was infuriated. Why was he acting like this?! This wasn't the Baraka Molina he knew. Of course, if he knew what Sodel Sinora knew about Baraka...it wasn't anything unusual after all. It was his old habit before Xalia came along...and old habits die hard. _Damn, you arrogant..._thought Alex

"Just let him take it; let it go." said Mephisto Six. Alex wasn't going to give in so soon. _Damn him_, he thought.

The battle over the sea was turning slowly over to the Allied side. The Naval Aircraft from the Osean Carriers were making mincemeat of the lesser-trained, ex-Sotoan/Versuan combined Naval forces.

"Osiris inbound! Another one!" shouted Scion. Everyone in the air battle realized what was coming. The Versuans got their own warning to avoid any fratricide.

"Damn." Molina said, moving towards their fleet's airspace.

Molina heard the warning as the Ajax began to fire several of these bursting, incendiary missiles. He'd only heard a bit about them...but they were powerful weapons for sure. They soon exploded over the sky...downing several aircraft, friendly and enemy. David felt a vibration along his aircraft. He looked to his left and saw a small trail of smoke on his wing. The fact that he only took _that_ amount of damage indicated how lucky he was.

"Are you okay!?" Kei cried to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." David said. David had flown like this before. But David knew one thing about trailing smoke in a plane...one was magnet for ambitious, kill-count hungry enemies. David and Kei Nagase knew that fact all too well. And as if on cue...Molina got hungry. He saw the smoke and went after it. But he may have gotten a bit greedy. Soon, he saw two planes bearing down on him just as David started smoking. As if on cue as well, Paulo had spotted the damaged Dragon, and swooped down with Icarus, who annoyingly kept going off on his own, to counter the attack of Mephisto One.

Kei was not going to let anyone get close to her husband's plane. She'd been in this type of situation before...and she knew exactly what to do. David dove low as Mephisto One closed in. She rolled left, right into his gun sights. Molina fired one missile at him...and one at her. Kei countered by releasing flares and slowed to let him pass. Sure enough, the missiles missed and she was able to fire an off-bore sight AIM-9X Sidewinder right at Mephisto One. The Terminators flashed past her...and were forced to back off because of Kei's attack. But this time...Mephisto One was not lucky enough to escape. The missile exploded early, a rare tendency...but it was enough to slightly damage his plane. Normally, he would have used flares to avoid it...but Kei manually guided it _very_ well.

"Take that you bastard." she said out loud. She'd returned the Versuans' favor in kind.

Polly saw the results as well, and she was happy. Ava was no longer some fruity, liberal prude. She was a cold-blooded killer for sure now. She wasn't afraid to take a walk on the wild side from time to time. She and her husband had risen above the soft, fruitcakes Polly once said; they were worthy of respect. If only she knew...

"Go, go Ava! Go, you crazy girl!" Polly shouted.

Kei let out an exasperated sigh. However, Molina cursed; he'd been foolish. He was making stupid mistakes. This wasn't like him! He had to get his men back together to make a concerted attack. Problem was...the Wardog unit was making life hell for Mephisto in other ways. Iga Horace had Paulo Scirro all over him. Makin cursed as he made an over-calculation in his flight path, sending him off course. Now his flight lead was in danger!

"Damn! Hang...what! He's all over me!" said Makin said.

Now Makin was in serious trouble as he had Cormorance Alou over him. And Alou was the official "Wardog's _Death Incarnate_". So Makin was going to be a dead man...and soon. But then...something truly bizarre happened. Near them, Michael saw an enemy plane that was an easy kill. However, it was all over Andrew...who was also suffering damage from those bursting missiles. With his own initiative, Michael charged to the rescue...but without Paulo's consent. Makin crossed down to avoid the attack...at the same angle as Michael Sacshenronde climbed up. They were both going too fast and too hard.

"I got you, red bastard!" he said. "Jacks! Hang on! I'm coming!"

"Michael! Return to formation! Icarus!" shouted Paulo.

"I got you now...!" Michael yelled.

Michael never saw it coming. Makin didn't either. Their backs were turned to each other, and that was a disaster. For both men, their desire to prove themselves came to a screeching halt in one final fatal event. Cormorance saw it all. He had to do everything he could to avoid the collision. Plane collisions were extremely rare. But Zerran Makin and Michael Sacshenronde had done just that. It was a freak accident mostly. But both had done something rather...ill-advised in the process; it was a double fatal decision.

"Did you see that?!" Cormorance yelled to the others.

"Man...Michael's gone!" said Andrew. Andrew knew Michael well for a short time...and now he was gone. He wasn't a guy to get sad about many things...but this was it.

David...wasn't sure how to feel. He didn't know Michael well. All he knew was that Michael was a Belkan born, showboating kind of pilot. He had family obviously, and they would be sad he was gone. But Michael was no friend of David or Kei. Michael never seemed to truly get along with anyone...even with the other rogues like Andrew Fisch and Polly Elbe. Then again, he always spent those down times bragging about how he was everyone else's superior. He was a good pilot, but not that good. Cormorance knew all too well.

As for Makin...his loss was more tragic. He was the son of an important government figure. He knew little about his father, Makin Sr. Unlike many of the higher ups, he was not involved with a lot of side, shadowy organizations like Orchid. His wife had died from mysterious circumstances a few years prior. But knowing the higher ups...there was probably more too it than that. Now he had to deliver bad news. But no one had the time to be sad. There was a battle going on. And the battle was not going well for the Versuans.

As Wardog and Mephisto traded blows, the Versuan Naval Squadron had been wiped out by the well-trained, vengeful Navy pilots. They were tired of being beaten at every turn prior to this battle. The armada had already sunk a number of allied ships...now they had a chance for revenge. The Versuans had lost almost ten ships...including the benefit of their ECM fleet.

The Osean Navy had prepared well. Admiral Chance, the commander of the Osean fleet, was not going to respond to any attacks with an offensive. He was going to make the Versuans come to them. They were launching their more advanced anti-ship missiles at a furious pace as the air squadrons held air superiority. Now the Navy planes could assist the regular air force. But the time for optimism was a bit early...everyone had forgotten about one critical thing...until now.

"This is Scion. The Naval Forces have finished off the last of the enemy Naval units. There's a lot of confusion over the radio waves. Wait...there's an interference at 348. Scion to all Naval Craft, begin evasive maneuvers." said the AWACS. That only meant one thing: Dispater Inbound.

"Set ECM Specials to Red!" said Paulo, preparing for a possible strike.

Kei frantically tried to set her switch on. David tried to get out of the zone, but it wasn't necessary. He looked to the left and saw Kei, but he also saw a wave of purplish flighting erupting around the central area. But it didn't seem as powerful as he'd seen this weapon capable of before. A flood of allied communications nearly blew up the radios.

"Damn! They got the Odyssey!" said one of the allied pilots.

"It's got very limited range." said Lillian, a strange time for observation.

"This is the Tigra! We've been hit by a anti missile! Evacuating the ship!" said the allied ship.

"Togos launching Harpoon!" said another ships.

"This is Scion. The enemy ship presence is weakening. We're getting reports from the allied bombers."

Now the Versuans were getting desperate. The allied air squadrons had tied up their air fleet. Now they had bombers coming in.

"This is Liberty One. We're on route to the central battle group." said the strike leader.

"We've got interference at all points at 101. All craft evacuate the area!" said Scion.

They were firing it again. David and Kei still stuck together. They were going to stay alive together or be electrified together. Cormorance barely avoided another series of electrical blasts. Polly had rolled her aircraft to avoid one, only to see them below her forcing her to thread a tight needle through the mass of lighting.

"Damn! Echo's Three's gone!" said one of the allied planes.

"I can't find Moya Seven! Where did he go!?" said one Yuke pilot in his broken accent.

"Scion here. We're getting information from Allied command. The firing created a delay for the weapon. The bombers need to get in there and hit that craft before the weapon recharges!"

"How long?!" Paulo shouted.

"Approximately four minutes!" said Scion.

_**Aboard the Ajax**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0100 hrs**_

The Ajax and her fleet were in trouble. Apparently, they had the allies figured wrong. They assumed that the enemy would block the channel all together and make an offensive push...just as Aurelius wanted. He'd gambled on a proper battle plan where a plausible allied strategy would be used. Not anymore. They'd stayed out of the attacking range and countered with relentless anti-ship missile attacks. The fighters were never to engage the enemy ships. They were there solely to sweep the air of the Versuan planes.

"Status report!" Aurelius demanded.

"We've lost twelve ships to their five! We've lost all planes from the Azeir, Tanage, and Corsair." said the radar operator.

"Confirmed missile hit on the Corsair! It's sinking!" said one of the officers.

Aurelius cursed. But he still had his aces in the hole. He turned to the X-9A liaison operator.

"What's the Dispater status!?" he yelled.

"Three minutes to recharge!" the tech said.

"Can we go to defensive mode!? They've got our fighters tied up now! Those bombers will be here any second!" said the Admiral.

"Sir, we'll be eighty percent capacity in one minute!" the tech officer said.

"We can't fire at eighty percent!" Dalton said. Dalton knew the secrets of the weapon like Aurelius, but he didn't know that the defensive measures could be used at eighty percent or more.

"We'll have to try! We're getting manhandled here! We've got to buy the fleet more time!" said Aurelius. Suddenly, the entire ship rocked with an explosion. Alarms blared and shouts pierced the air with sound. As soon as the shaking stopped, Aurelius got off the floor.

"Damage report!" he ordered.

"We've been hit by a sub-launched missile! Damage at twelve percent! Fire control teams are into the breach! Friendly subs engaging allied subs!" said one of the officers.

"What sector!?" asked Dalton.

"It hit the 5th Deck! But the Dis apparatus has not been damaged." replied the officer.

Aurelius breathed a sigh of relief. He still had that weapon. Now he had to use it in a way he hadn't intended.

"Prepare the Dispater for defensive mode. Continue to fire at the enemy craft. Keep up the pressure! Get on the radio and request reinforcements." the Admiral ordered.

"Enemy planes approaching port at 270!" said the radar operator.

"Eighty seven percent...preparing to open Protection Cone in three...two...one! Ignition!" said the X-9A operator.

_**Over the Pacific-Ceres Divide**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0101 hrs**_

David saw the slow moving A-6s speed into the battle. Flak and other craft were spilling around them. Some of the navy planes had tried to distract the AA, but they were not being bought by the enemy. Still, despite a few losses, they pressed on, dropping their bombs...onto a cone of purplish death. David was stunned...and everyone else was as well.

"What the...hell was that?!" shouted Treya, who was still hanging around the battle.

"I don't know. Good grief...I've never seen it do that!" said Cato, flying on her wing.

Suddenly, the cone expanded almost like a bursting balloon in the air, several A-6s were destroyed instantly.

"Liberty Squadron's dropping like flies!" said Paulo shouted. One after another, the A-6s fell. Beneath them was a whirlwind of flak, burning ships, screaming missiles.

"I'm hit! I'm going..." said one unfortunate craft.

"No response from Liberty Seven! Liberty Eight damaged!" said another.

"I had no idea it could that!" Kei said. Kei noticed more of the red planes after them and told David about them. They turned back into Mephisto. For Mephisto, things were not looking well. The battle conditions were deteriorating fast. They had not expected this much resistance. The naval planes had been absolutely useless. Now the enemy planes were turning into the Verusan's own formation! Things were getting bad. It was bad enough that Makin was gone just like that. But now, the Navy was in trouble. But they could still win...until...

"This is Scion! We're detecting more abnormal shifts in radar; even more than originally detected. I've never seen anything like this...we're talking extreme wavelength changes! Radar is completely warping. Command has ordered a temporary withdrawal." said the AWACS.

"What's going on!?" Polly said. She looked around and saw her radar was doing all kinds of strange things. It was moving left and right, targets were in the wrong place.

"What the...? What the hell?!" shouted Kei said, looking back and forth, eyes bulging in total shock. Her telemetry was going crazy. It was all her electronics, not just the radar. It was even more than when they first experienced the enemy's special weapon. Wardog was experiencing something almost paranormal given the circumstances. But for Mephisto, this was extremely odd. When a usage of the Dispater was ordered, the friendly planes were ordered to evacuate the general area. But this was the first time they'd experienced the same affects the Allies did!

"There's some kind of problem! My radar's going haywire!" Alex shouted.

"Let's get out of here! I've got a bad feeling about this!" Molina shouted.

"This is Red Crown! All aircraft withdraw from the center, now!"

"What's going on down there?!" Molina asked.

_**Aboard the Ajax**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0104 hrs**_

Hildegarde knew things were going south really fast. His naval attack had all but deteriorated. They'd inflicted plenty of damage...but it was quickly going downhill. Suddenly, the air all around him began to smell of a strange ozone scent. He barely heard his own officer speak.

"What?! Repeat that!" ordered Aurelius.

"There's some kind of malfunction with the Dis apparatus! It's going haywire!" said the X-9 operator.

"Shut it down! Now!" Aurelius ordered.

"I can't! The cooling units are shutting down! It's overheating!" the tech said.

"Shut them down manually!" ordered Dalton.

"We've got water entering Deck 5! We're trying to close it off!" said the emergency dispatch officer.

"Do everything you can to close off the central areas! If that water makes it to the Dis chamber...!" Aurelius ordered.

"Do we abandon ship?" Dalton said. He could see the writing on the wall. Aurelius was a realist. They were losing ships to the allied attacks as they were shooting from a longer range than Aurelius anticipated. The Admiral had made a terrible mistake; mistakes that were going to get his men killed. But he wasn't going to stop trying.

"No...We can control the water leakage. We only have to shut down the Dispater controls." said Aurelius.

Another violent vibration shook everyone off their feet. A large piece of debris fell on the Commander. Dalton was crushed underneath the weight of it. He was dead. Some of the other crew was injured.

"Medic! Get a medic on the horn!" one officer cried.

"Damn! Sir! We've got an overload in the main chamber! We can't stop the reaction!" said the Dispater operator. There was another large vibration.

"Explosion in the main chamber! We're taking on more water! We can't stop the back flow!" said the emergency dispatch officer. The Ajax was listing at this point. Aurelius tried to save what was left. He clutched on to a railing.

"Abandon ship! I repeat, all crew members abandon ship!" Aurelius ordered over the PA system.

But, he knew that it was too late. _Like abandoning ship will help...none of us will survive this, _he thought. But he didn't stop trying. As the crew left the bridge, he crawled for the main radio and located the

"Ajax Command to Central Command. Our mission has failed. So long." he said sadly.

Hildegarde didn't see it, but he knew. Water began to fill the room as the Dis cannon began to explode, triggering a massive blast. Hildegarde's only regret was that he never accomplished his true goal. He could only think about what could have been had he not made the mistakes of the past. He knew the reason this happened, but it was nothing he or anyone else could truly control. That was what hurt most of all. He felt nothing as the world exploded around him consuming him in electricity and flame.

What happened next, no one could predict. The Ajax exploded in more than just a simple blast in the ocean. It should have rocked the world. Because the Ajax's explosion took with it not just itself...but many ships and planes. The screams of the shocked and the dying filled the airwaves.

"Good God! Did you see that?!" said Treya. Serena Batiste had seen a lot in a short time since the war started...but nothing like this.

"Look out!" Cato shouted.

Francis Marele was a young guy, looking forward to going home once the war had ended. But in an instant, his life was over. He was zapped by one of the errant bolts, one that had missed Treya, but hit poor Cato head on.

"Francis! Francis! Cato!" Serena yelled. But to no avail. Cato was gone. Treya was sick inside. All her "boys" were gone now. Marele had a fiancée too; they were planning a family. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for her to keep living to have her husband and her children happy she was alive...and more people who hadn't had a chance at a full life would die before her. It was, in a twisted way, not fair. In an instant, she didn't want to live...to hell with living for another battle if _this_ was living. If living was dodging an attack that no one could stop...then what was the point. She almost started crying.

"All craft evasive manu..." said a doomed allied pilot.

"Vixen eject! Halo 3 eject now! Halo 6!? Respond! All Halo units check in!" said Halo 2.

"The flight lead's gone! Everyone..." said a doomed Versuan pilot.

"Carezo Leader gone! Confirm our chain of command!" said another Versuan pilot.

A massive blast of purplish electricity and concussion sunk many of Versua's ships. The wave of destruction claimed more than that. Allied and Versuan ships were destroyed or heavily damaged. The Allied ships fared better...but only just. The central sea was filled with the plumes of smoking piles of sinking rubble.

"What the hell happened?" Baraka asked himself. He couldn't believe what he just witnessed and barely survived.

"The Navy! It's been destroyed!" said one of the other pilots.

There was nothing but plumes. For Baraka Molina, and those precious few pilots who'd survived...the plumes represented more than just defeat in the moment. It was their world going up in flames. The massive, impressive fleet had been reduced to just a few untouched ships in the span of a few seconds. And yet, no man in that squadron knew the truth behind what had really just happened.

As for Blaze, or Jonathan...or Dragon...then again...it didn't matter who he called himself at the time.

Michael's sudden loss came as an immediate shock. However, the enemy had been destroyed. It was almost laughable that they had been destroyed by their own weapons. David didn't realize it immediately, but the hand of "Hope" tightened slightly and "Hate" lost its grip. It didn't make much sense at the time, but it was some twisted logic that made some sense in a twisted world. He was flanked by Kei

"We did it. We're alive." said Kei...almost breathless in her voice. She was exhausted; her body ached from constant strain on her body. She realized she wasn't as spry and energetic anymore. She and her husband were only respectively twenty eight and thirty nine days from her thirtieth birthdays.

"The enemy is withdrawing. We're checking the reports from our fleet...but it looks like we've won this battle...albeit a hollow one." said Scion. It didn't seem like hollow victory. Some were thinking in relative to the size of each side's navy. The Oseans had lost two super carriers, and eighteen other ships. The Versuans had lost 81 ships. Most of the combat losses on both sides were from the wildcat electrical blast from the exploding Ajax. The Oseans were lucky. Had they closed to battle the Versuans...their losses would have been much heavier. But no one was expecting such a result.

"Dragon, go to UHF secure, channel 3." said Kei. The pilots formerly known as Edge and Blaze long had a system for changing to secure channels. To change to Channel One, they would go to Three; Three was Five, Five was Seven, Seven they'd go to Nine. Twelve would be Four and so on.

"Thanks for saving my ass." David said having changed the channel over.

"No problem. No, it's my job. It's a nice fleshy protuberance of yours. It'd be a shame to let it go to waste." said Kei barely holding back her laughter.

David cracked up with laughter. He felt a bit strange laughing at it though...it didn't seem right for some reason. But he laughed anyway. It felt uncomfortable at first with all that had happened. It was something to take the mind off their daughter's death. Now, it felt good to finally stick it to the enemy they'd been goaded into fighting. It seemed fitting that their own weaponry would lead to their defeat. Now the tide of the war had finally changed. He then almost forgot. He took out Sueltana's crudely letter. It gave him hope every time he saw it. Now he was going to find the girl who'd warmed his heart in the face of all this fear and inner despair.

But there was one major event no one noticed until after the fact. Not only was there loss of ships and personnel, but to no one's immediate knowledge, a massive improvised tsunami had been created. The unprecedented wildcat blast from the X-9A had created so much electrical interference it struck a light fault line causing the tsunami and killing all sea life with in twenty mile radius. The tsunami hit areas of Southern Osea, and Yuktobania, and even parts of Versua. The loss of life would be high.

_**Dispater Tower**_

_**November 27, 2016**_

_**0110 hrs**_

General Percival was in total shock. In an instant, a majority of their mighty navy had been dispatched to the bottom of the sea. He'd received the report from Aurelius, as he went down with his ship. But, that wasn't quite the statement to make about it. It was more along the lines of being blown up with his ship. But it was a sobering account to say the least. He shook his head at what had just occurred. But Makin was despair. He'd watched the whole battle through "Zerran-Cam" a special camera set up, with Molina's permission, to monitor the battle through his son's aircraft. But when the camera went dead...he knew that his son was gone. He had no time to eject.

"My son is dead. It should...why...how..." said Makin, sitting in his chair almost to the point of tears. Percival didn't have any kids, and he viewed women as inferior beings...so he wouldn't have known what it was like to have a child. But Percival wasn't a completely soulless person unlike a certain icy woman who remained nameless.

For Makin, his son was all he had left. He sacrificed so much to be a part of Masson's inner circle. His friends, his wife all had to fall by the wayside. Now, the only thing he had left was gone. All that tragedy and heartbreak...all the horrible things he did for Masson was for naught now; all due to one event. He should have seen it coming; he should have known it was a contingency he should have known...Zerran was a scientist for God's sake! But the sanguine nature Makin had about his son ended up hurting him more than it could have possibly have.

"I know. I'm sorry. It was a freak accident as far we can tell. He collided with a plane; it couldn't be helped." said Percival.

"I understand. I...wish it could have been different but...I need to be alone right now." said Makin getting out of his chair.

"No, I understand. Take your time." replied Percival. As Makin began to walk away, he turned back to his old friend.

"What about you?" Makin said concerned. Percival knew he and Zorba and Ignis were all going to take some serious heat for this foul up.

Percival was not one for dramatic pauses. But even he had to take into account what he had witnessed. It was a major accident from the X-9A; a weapon that both men had helped to develop. Percival was also one who, many a time to his detriment, always managed to avoid taking the heat for most mistakes he made. Percival never took all the heat for a mistake as a principle. That was how Percival managed to stay alive in the chaotic, Big Brother like years of the past. He never trusted anyone save Makin or Morales. He'd seen too many people pay with their lives for mistakes made. He'd be damned if he was going to take the heat. But this time...he felt he owed it to Makin. Anyone else...he'd make excuses for or shift the blame; not this time.

"...I'll apologize to Masson myself." Percival said.

Next: Chapter 11: The Bird and The Looking Glass


	11. The Bird and The Looking Glass

Note: I wanted to wait a bit before posting this, but when I realized that this chapter was going to be way too long, I had to cut it into two parts. Chapter 12 will be the next part obviously. Now, if you're fan of "The Boondock Saints", you might like the next two chapters. This part has little action, but has a lot of plot. Enjoy!

Chapter 11: The Bird and the Looking Glass

"_Well done is better than well said." - Ben Franklin_

_**Highway Z30**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1500 hrs**_

Sasha Masson hated riding in cars. She'd wanted to fly a jet to Vastos, but her father and her associates nixed that idea after some terrible incident during the war two days ago. Sasha had little idea of what was going on. Everything she learned about the war was through her husband or from secondhand information. No one told her anything. She was on her way to make a quick visit with her sister and Ammon whom she hadn't seen in awhile. Then she had to go make some public appearance on behalf of her father at the coastal city of Kubia which had been swept away by the sudden tsunami of days prior.

Automobiles were the most boring way to travel in Sasha's opinion. She might as well have been on a ship as those always put her to sleep. So Sasha slept the entire drive. She didn't want to be a talkative bother to the people and armed escorts that were with her in the motorcade. Sasha was laid out in the back of a White Crow symbol-laden limousine, filled with armored plating and bullet proof windows. All around her lay the sad reality of life in Versua...and because of her boredom of riding in the car in the first place...she missed all of it. Just as she'd never been told the entire truth about what was really going on in her homeland. There were only a few highways in Versua, and those were reserved for military usage during this conflict.

Life in Versua was much different than Masson's propaganda let on or the lies she'd been told by her father's creepy sycophants; lies she didn't even realize were lies. The world only knew about Sasha and Ammon's beautiful hometown, Valuria, "The Ivory City". Ciudad was rather populous as well as Clavio and Sierra Aanes. This was the face of Versua; three beautiful cities that were freed from decades of civil war. But in reality, those cities were a facade; the real face of Versua were cities like Basra and Disra. They were the face of Verusa's "old world". It was a world that, in some instances, hadn't really changed to the present. Prime Minister Dise Graysel knew that all too well. He rode in the front area of the limo, letting Sasha sleep it off. He appreciated her innocence in these times. She was twelve or thirteen though the worst of those old times.

Most of Verusa was beneath the poverty line. Most people knew, but the important people didn't know...or didn't care. The soldiers mostly didn't care because they and their families got a decent living out of the deal. Though most of them were White Crow loyalists anyway. The majority of Versua though...held no love for the White Crow. The people still starved, they still begged, and they still scraped for money. Even with all that, the White Crow's leadership didn't really care. They'd been so single mindedly focused on building a massive military to rule the western world that everyone else had fallen by the wayside. Masson and his men had promised much, and nothing changed. Masson didn't want it to change. He could maintain hegemony over the land if the people needed and, more importantly, feared him. Surely _someone_ must have taken the White Crow to task for their hollow promises. But with most military regimes, there were measures in place to ensure absolute allegiance...or else. Enter the Orchid Division.

The Orchid Division was created two years after Masson's rise to power solely to find and eliminate sedition and to ensure that _everyone_ was following the law...even their own. The north had already been conquered, but the fear of rebellion from within lead to its creation. The Orchid Division recruited only the most fanatical followers from all walks of life: military or civilian. Orchid used every method imaginable: propaganda, kidnapping, imprisonment, assassination, interrogation, torture, arson, outright murder, or even chemical and biological weapons...or so it was thought. Most people were afraid to even speak of the group's exploits, much less actually talk about its existence altogether. All these events and whether or not they occurred was the matter of ranging opinions. But the fear was there: no one was safe. Masson often thought about whether or not Orchid had too much power. That opinion was shared by many of Masson's advisors. It wasn't until his own position was threatened that he took action. On Christmas Eve 2010, a failed coup by disgruntled members of Orchid led to Masson pulling the plug on the organization. Some were executed, a few were sent to prison, some were forced to resign, and some, loyal party members, were merely transferred.

The last group was not taken with much kindness. Many people were removed from hard earned positions to be replaced with whom they considered, according to a specific current member of Masson's inner circle as "people who were in tight with Masson". Rumors began inside the government about who was a member of Orchid and who was not. Orchid was never truly liked by anyone, even dedicated, loyal party members who weren't _that _fanatical. People knew only a few facts. There were only a few people in Masson' camp who were confirmed as ex-Orchid agents. General Ignis was the ringleader. Percival and Makin were also Orchid, as well as Dorian Daydenko and the cold, feared Valen Yancing. And yet Graysel held the dark secrets in his heart, for he too was ex-Orchid. He'd done some things that he would spend his life regretting. Poor Sasha hadn't been told the truth or even been in Versua that long to find out. And Graysel and William Masson, much less everyone else intended to keep it that way. Problem was...Sasha wasn't stupid. Zerran Makin Jr.'s death was only the beginning.

Sasha hated the way her relatives treated her. She wasn't a little girl anymore and she was much smarter than they thought. She and Ammon were educated people; and she got most of her information from him. And the truth was, the war her father started...was not going well at all. Of course, anyone knew that by now. By now, most of the events of the Battle of the Ceres Ocean began to leak out. That horribly demoralizing defeat had surrendered the Ocean to the Allies. But that creepy Percival and Sasha's icy, oldest sister boasted of the "Tower". That weapon was something she had neither seen nor witnessed. She was hoping her uncle Graysel could pull some strings to get her some access to the tower. But even that did not seem to matter as anyone with half a brain could figure out that the war wasn't going well, and Sasha had far more than half a brain.

Graysel had been the only one in her family outside Xalia that even bothered to listen to her on a consistent basis. Ever since she was a child, her father was always busy, busy, and busy. And Sasha was beneath Portia. Her mother had been the only one she could talk to on a personal basis. But she sadly passed away six years ago. She would have loved to meet Ammon. No one outside Xalia and her father even liked Ammon. Sasha's mother spent more time teaching her what she _could and should_ do rather than her father's usual heavy-handed advice on what she _should not, could not, or would not _do.

Portia's mother had died long before...and no one missed her. Portia's mother was a witch like her daughter. The apple didn't fall father from the tree. Xalia's mother was also long dead to disease. So Graysel had served as a role model where her father could not. Graysel was always considered the voice of reason in Masson's camp. Sasha was against the war from the beginning and actually convinced Graysel. But Sasha could never openly do it. And Xalia had the nerve to tell her friends. Word spread like wildfire and soon Sasha was forced to answer all kinds of ridiculous questions. It wasn't that Sasha was an anti-war person...she just felt iffy about her father shaking his fist at the world. As a child she didn't quite understand why her father was so hated. Now, she was only just beginning to understand the way things were really going on in her isolated, sheltered semi-political life. The limo hit a bump in the road and it was enough to shake her from the depths of her slumber.

"Oh, glad you're up. We're within thirty miles of Duan. We should arrive at the Vastos Springs within a half a hour." said Graysel.

"Thank you. Maybe I should put a futon or something in this car." Sasha said while chuckling a bit. Suddenly, the lead car in the motorcade exploded. Sasha was looking forward as was Graysel who moved back to Sasha's area. Everyone had to stop immediately and the sudden halt caused everyone to lurch forward violently.

"What the hell?!" Sasha asked.

"What's going on!?" Graysel asked. The driver was in a complete panic. He didn't see it, but they certainly felt it. There was a zooming sound, and with a violent impact, the rear car in the motorcade exploded as well. The limo nearly bounced off its back wheels.

"The motorcade is under attack! Get down!" Graysel said. Sasha didn't need to be told that. She immediately got down onto the floor of the vehicle. Why would they be under attack? It wasn't as if they were on a military operation! The driver began to maneuver around the destroyed jeep and drive on past the burning cars. Another of the cars behind it suddenly tipped over and crashed, flipping end over end. Suddenly, a wash of blood, bone and entrails exploded from the driver of the car, covering the windows and shocking Sasha to her core.

"Oh, my god!" she said almost breathless. Graysel tried to head for the front seat and steer the car.

"Hang on! I'll try to..." Graysel said trying to steer the car...but no avail. A slam and a crash knocked both of them into unconsciousness.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1500 hrs**_

Far away, Ammon Kaida and Alex Haari had no idea the previous event had just occurred. They were in their own situation. By now, Xalia had gotten out of the infirmary only to discover the terrible defeat of two days prior. Morale was low for most of the regular pilot. To lose a battle like that in such a terrible fashion was demoralizing for all involved. Thousands upon thousands of lives were lost at sea, and many planes were lost as well. As the shattered elements of the Versuan Air Force who participated in the battle limped home, it was clear that any future victory at all would not come cheap. Defeat could and would be far worse. The allies had lost a substantial number of ships as well; however, in addition to losing much less, they could afford the losses. With that victory, the world began to see just how dangerous a power Versua actually was. The only problem for them was the Dispater Tower, and fewer people were thinking that would be enough to hold back the eventual allied advance. Now they'd retaken Vijrundi and were poised to make a strike into their homeland. But the way through Versua led through the Moab Madra: "The Desert of Bones"; the massive desert that covered the northern highlands. And at the epicenter of that defensive line would be Vastos. But the allies had not yet made any direct attacks into Versua as per executive orders from their animated, fiery leader President Mary Cohen.

For Alex, the loss of Makin to a freak collision was bad, but for the army to suffer its string of defeats, first the Ceres Osean, then Odessa, then Gublina, then Vijrundi...

Mephisto had been all over the vast battle front checking the allied advance where they could, but a dam had been opened up and there was nothing to stop the flow. Now they allies were dangerously close to the border, and more embarrassing were those Osean aces who were just all over the place. Every time Mephisto got there, they were gone. It was a tiring game of cat and mouse.

Alex witnessed Kaida and Xalia chatting it up outside of Hangar #8, where Kaida stored his aircraft. Kaida was here on some kind of operation that he told few about. Alex, as did most of the other Mephisto pilots, knew that Xalia and Ammon had been friends for some time. Then again, they were in-laws now. Alex feared that Ammon may have been getting a bit too chummy with Xalia...but they were technically family, so he never begrudged him for that. But Alex knew that friendship came from somewhere else. He'd heard a rumor from a nameless source that Xalia and Ammon had been romantically invovled at some point years ago. It would fit since they were almost the same age and were in the same squadron at one point.

"What is with you two? I swear you two spend more time around each other than your significant others." said Alex.

"Well, we're friends...and in-laws so..." replied Kaida.

"So was it true?" Alex asked. He wasn't expecting to get much of an answer...but there was no harm in trying.

"What?" said Ammon, off guard.

"...that you and Xalia were an item long before Molina showed up?" asked Alex. Kaida shook his head. Alex had been a friend for years and even he didn't know the whole truth. They were outside the hangars and the activity was strangely low. Molina was a long way away...and this was the last thing the Mephisto leader needed to discover.

"Are you going to take this to the grave?" asked Kaida in a serious, low, almost hostile tone.

"Of course. You know me." said Alex. Kaida shook his head.

"Yes, it was long before I even met Sasha. It was three years ago. We were friends then, and we were talking about trying to find the perfect...person in our lives after a sortie. I was actually on base while she was first finishing her training. We'd been friends for so long, that a serious relationship would wreck what we had. But we were close to each other; so...we had a deal. We kept it physical...and emotional enough to where we could still function in the same way but still search for those we wanted in our lives. And we did; we found them. But we had to confess to the other that we'd finally found the one and we'd break it off. It was only until Sasha came back from North Point after that flight accident she had that I found her. It was about two years ago, coinciding with the first or second month that Xalia and Baraka were together."

"You mean...you were sleeping with Xalia...when the Commander and Xalia were together? I mean, you've had a lot of women before her but...wow...who are you to do that?" said Alex, trying to keep his voice.

"Well, she didn't know if he was the one. She was quite doubtful of him at first. He had a reputation for being cocky at times. Xalia doesn't like cocky people all that much...case in point." said Ammon pointing at Alex. Alex scoffed.

"Does Sasha know the details?" Alex said.

"Actually, she knows I broke it off with her long before. Thankfully, Sasha's a reasonable person. I told her we broke up amicably in early 2014 and because she'd follow Xalia to hell...Sasha never doubted her words. It was a clean break; that's why we kept the emotion to a minimum...no broken hearts. But if Molina knew, he'd kick my ass. I just didn't expect it to be Sasha who popped into my life. Of course, my father pushed it because he wanted more power. The deal between my father and Masson was this: if I married Sasha, then he'd get that long sought after promotion to General which allowed General Crixus to be moved up to command the 1st Army. My father runs the 15th Infantry Division under Crixus now; quid pro quo. It ticked off a lot of people in the Command though. But, the government's known for all its side deals so...it didn't surprise anyone." said Kaida looking away.

"Man...That's one complex relationship. What you two had, that could only work between you two. You couldn't do it in Osea. That would be a suicide mission if you two were in Osea doing that kind of thing. Osean couples wouldn't put up with that 'friends with benefits' bullshit." said Alex. Alex, like Kaida, was well aware of Osean culture. Men like Molina and Orace and Sinora were old-school Versuans. However, Alex couldn't begrudge him a bit for it. Alex and Ammon were not really moralists and never tried to be.

"Well, Versuan women are low maintenance for the most part. They don't require constant attention like Osean women. Hell, you remember our flight instructor?" said Kaida.

"Dietrich? Yeah...he was an alright guy. A bit tough, but most Belkans are." said Alex, recalling the memories of training in North Osea.

"You've seen his wife? He married a Versuan woman back before the Belkan War. I met her once. She's an awesome woman." said Ammon.

"They've been married...what...twenty one years? Wow, that's a long time. I'd have a hard time staying with one woman for twenty one months, much less two decades." said Alex. "But...personally I don't see Molina and Xalia staying together that long."

"Why?" asked Kaida. Alex looked away and shook his head. He then turned rapidly back to his buddy.

"Let me ask you something...do you honestly see them a perfect match? They may act like it...but I sense something beneath that relationship...and it isn't good. There is something dark going on there...but I can't put my finger on the real issue. It's just a feeling I have from them." said Alex.

"Or maybe you're still upset at him for grounding you because of the events out at sea?" said Kaida with a bit of a smirk. He was not convinced that Alex had a legitimate complaint about Molina...yet. Alex became visibly angry.

"He was acting like a jerk during that whole mission before. We had those planes, those Osean aces...and I kept getting locks, but Molina kept telling me to back off. He didn't do any better and what did it get him? Missile hit by one of their leads! Then when I wanted to talk to him about it, he got all sensitive and defensive and he grounded me for the next mission! Can you believe that? He's just...strange right now. Whenever Xalia's not around, he's a totally different person. But when she's there...he's calm and focused. Yet he seems to act as if he doesn't need her there. That's the vibes I'm getting from them." said Alex.

"...which tells me those enemy aces are starting to affect his judgment. But...we're all human; we make mistakes." said Kaida. After a bit of a pause, Alex changed the subject as Kaida began to walk off.

"Did you hear about Bel being sent up?" he asked.

"The Killer Bees? Man...They're serious now if their sending that guy. He's a psychopath. Where did they find that guy?" said Kaida. 'The Killer Bee' referred to the rather skilled, if sometimes unbalanced, Sodel Josen of Bel Squadron. Sodel was easily the most attractive of the aces, but he had some..._issues_, to be kind. But Alex summed up the general feeling about Josen in twelve words.

"Hey, I'd rather have that crazy ace on our side any day." Alex said.

"That is true..." said Kaida.

"So, Rahab, you, and Bel...what's going on? You guys are going after those Oseans, aren't you?" Alex deduced.

"That was a pretty good guess...and an accurate one at that." said Kaida laughing.

Kaida stopped upon the sudden appearance of Dorian Daydenko. Kaida's look was one of anger and complete dejection. The last person he wanted to meet was this woman. But something about her attitude had obviously changed. As a gambling man, Kaida would have bet it all that had something to do with being humbled by those Oseans. She still wore those ugly sunglasses.

"There you are." she said.

"Dorian? What are you doing here?" asked Ammon, rather nervously.

"Look, I'm not here to punch you again, believe it or not. I need your help." she asked. Kaida figured this was his chance to show this woman up.

"Fire away." said Kaida.

"I got this dossier from intelligence. They said to show it you. You might be interested in this picture. Apparently he's from that squadron...the 373rd. The one we're going to wipe out today. said Dorian. Dorian handed Ammon a picture of a black haired man in his late twenties or early thirties. On the back were notes about him. In an instant, Ammon tapped the picture. He knew who this was! He'd seen him a dozen times at Hierlark!

"Oh my god...I know this man!" said Kaida.

_**Highway Z30**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1515 hrs**_

It was a long time Sasha was out. She felt a cold blackness in a sleep she did not want or need. She hadn't had the time for the fear to catch up with her. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she awoke from her impromptu slumber. When she first came to, she couldn't really see. Had she gone blind? Well, no. She was blindfolded, but her hands weren't bound. But she was in a panic.

"Help! Somebody help!" she shouted. "Help!" Suddenly, she was grabbed by the throat by a warm, dusty hand. Just as quickly as it occurred, his hand dropped from her jugular. But she'd been lifted somewhat, as if she'd been stood up by some larger figure.

"They can't help you now. I've seen to their...absence...to be kind." the voice said.

"What...who are you?! Where are you?!" Sasha demanded. Suddenly, the speaker ripped the blindfold off her. The man was a tall one wearing desert camouflage with a black head wrap of sorts. With him were a myriad of weapons. The one that stuck out for Sasha was the massive silver rifle on his back. He was holding a black colored pistol with a silencer on it.

"Sorry, had to get my mask on. Don't want to divulge too much. As for me...I'm just the messenger, my dear." said the man in a soft, quick-lisped tone.

"Who...who are you?! What do you want with me?!" Sasha said, near the point of tears.

"Oh, you can relax...I'm not here to kill you. It wasn't my intention. But I had no idea _you _of all people were in the car. But the purpose remains the same." the man said with a mixture of quick and slow tempos to his voice.

"I'll give you anything! Just leave me alone!" Sasha begged. The man backhanded her and she fell to the dusty ground in shock. Despite this, this man held his composure.

"Would you stop? Like I said...I'm just the messenger; and I've come with a message for your father. Take this to him...and give him this message. Tell him that his time...is almost...up. If you should find that rat of a sister of yours...tell her this: _The Looking Glass _is back from Hell! See you around." the dusty cloaked man said. He stuck a white piece of paper in Sasha's jacket pocket and walked off.

And with that action, he walked away into the desert. Sasha was so paralyzed with fear that she couldn't even pick up one of the guns laying around and shoot this guy, much less actually use the gun at all. She plucked out the piece of paper from her pocket, the one this "Looking Glass" gentleman put there, and looked at it in complete horror. On it was the symbol of a red colored cross and a rather poignant message:

_**Just as their fleet was destroyed by their own weapons...so too will their reign. Just as their wicked aces are swept from the sky by the likes of those from the fated numbers 373. The Southern Alliance shall welcome with Allies with open arms and with our weapons wipe clean the evil of House Masson and his false promises!**_ _**Long live the Southern Alliance!**_

It wasn't only fear that gripped her heart. It was a sense of hopelessness. Who was this...Looking Glass? She knew a little about who the Southern Alliance was from Ammon. Now it only crept into her mind that she was alone. She looked all around trying to find some sign of life. But every man in the escort had been shot dead...and quite brutally. The driver had shot but in such a brutal fashion that he was nearly thrown from the car and torn in half. But who could that have happened? The windows were bulletproof! Whatever killed him was no ordinary bullet, but Sasha was no ballistics expert.

Suddenly, she heard groaning from the front of the limo. She peeked in and saw Graysel moving around...he was alive! She quickly jumped into the stricken vehicle, looking to aid her uncle.

"Are you alright uncle!? Is there anything broken?" Sasha said.

"Yes...I'm fine. What happened?!" asked Graysel, eyes darting around.

"We were attacked by terrorists! Come on! We've got to get help!" said Sasha, grabbing her satellite phone from the base of the car which had been ejected from her pocked upon crashing.

"Don't worry. I'll handle that. Just make sure you wipe that blood from your pretty face. I wouldn't want your husband to worry about you." said Graysel...almost sarcastically. "I think I'm getting too old for this."

It seemed a bad time for jokes with dead people lying all around them. But Sasha actually...found a reason to smile. At least whoever this Southern Alliance was...they had no quarrel with Sasha. She moved to hug her uncle, happy he was his old, salty, sarcastic self.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1600 hrs**_

Kei Nagase couldn't figure out Andrew Fisch. Fisch was different from Michael in so many ways, but yet...could pass as a carbon copy. David hadn't brought up his familial relationship to Chopper in fear of blowing her cover. The very fact of talking about that man made her get emotional...even over six years after the fact. Kei knew David felt he'd done his old friend a disservice by rejoining the one thing they hated. And this war looked to have all the makings of a cold, cruel and brutal conflict. But she'd changed since her old days. She no longer cared about her enemies or their plight. So let it be that way, she thought. It was a war they brought on themselves. She almost felt like Cormorance now. Cormorance had no quarrel, no compassion, no reservation for anyone but himself in war; at least it seemed...

The postmortem of the titanic oceanic clash between navies of two days ago was rather grim from a numbers standpoint. But the result was clear; the war had taken a completely different turn. For the men and women of Wardog, things had been a mix of the grim and boring. Most of the other planes were down for repairs after suffering through another attack from the Dispater Tower. The war was definitely shifting to the Allied side. The Yukes up north had been relieved when the joyous news of the shattering of the hard-line party. The communist leadership in Cinigrad imploded and for all intents and purposes, Yuktobania was no longer at civil war. But with that threat dealt with, the Yukes could finally have little distractions from their own problems. Vijrundi fell the previous day, due to the lack of air cover created due to the ocean battle. Now the Versuans were withdrawing into their own country.

Things had been grim since Michael's passing, but it was something that couldn't be helped. It was a one in a million thing. Perhaps he wasn't really paying attention though; could that have been the case? Kei tried to put it out of her mind.

Kei was sitting a "ready room", which was really just a recreational room in some bombed out community center the squad was using as a meeting area. Fisch was playing cards with Lillian and Kei had to join in. David had gone off somewhere, but didn't say where he was going. The briefing for some secret mission was coming up in a few, and the fact that he wasn't here gave Kei cause for worry. Jackson would pop a few veins over that one. But as if on cue, David walked into the room...with a special guest.

"Hey! Look who I found!" said David entering the room...with a kid. Kei had heard about David's encounter with that kid of course...but she didn't figure he'd go out and actually _find_ her. She looked rather haggard with glass blue eyes and black hair. Everyone was shocked at the appearance of this girl. Fisch was obviously stunned.

"What the hell is she doing here?!" he asked. Fisch was no fan of kids, by far...and the last thing he needed was Sosabee bringing in some kid off the street.

"Who in Sam hill is this kid!?" Lillian asked.

"Oh, well, she seems to have become big fans of us. She followed us all the way to this city." said David.

"Are you kidding me? Wow." Lillian.

"Come here. What's your name?" asked Kei holding the girl's near her own body. She spoke as well as she could...but she seemed smarter than the average kid.

"Sueltana." the girl said.

"Ah, that's a pretty name. This is Da...I mean Jonathan, I'm Ava and this Andrew and Lillian...oh there's Comorance." said Kei. Cormorance had just walked in behind David, and just looked around a bit. It was almost as if he was trying to distant from the affair.

"Yeah, I told him about this kid. He was the one who found her." said David.

Alou shook his head, but said nothing else. Kei played around with her a bit, both giggling and laughing and she beckoned Alou over to her.

"Hey, Alou, show our guest around a bit." she said, letting him show the girl around. The child's eyes were filled with excitement. She was in a candy store of her own mind. Of course, it was just a military base. But she didn't care. She was stoked, as Andrew would stay, about being here among men and women that girl considered deities among the mortals.

"Pleasure. Come on kid. I'll show you my room. I got this really cool book I want you to see." said Alou leaving. Kei then noticed Andrew calling someone about the gambling line on some game back home.

"Okay, they're getting three and a half? Alright, put it all on Rutherford. Thanks man." he said hanging up the phone.

"Is that all you do in your spare time? Drink and gamble?" asked Kei.

"Well, yeah. I can't really get drunk here so...I guess cards and dice and whatnot...it'll have to do." said Andrew.

"That betting on cheap games and sleeping around on every woman he's with." added Lillian.

"Well, that too." said Andrew. One thing about Andrew, he never lied to anyone about what he did. Of course, that was also a lie...since the very act of dating around involved a lot of lying. But Kei always felt Andrew's extracurricular activities were certainly lacking a certain class. She was not the ultimate moralist by any means, but she tried to take the right stance on fidelity. Kei didn't like the ideas of a lot of broken hearts...and that's what Andrew left a lot. She always had an issue with people who leave things worse than when they get them. As for the gambling, she found a certain humor when he lost. For all Andrew's commitment to gambling, he was never a guaranteed winner and lost a lot.

"Ugh...how disgusting. Guys like you can never commit to one woman, so why don't you just commit yourself already?" Kei said.

"Why would I do that? I mean come on...life's short. Live it up." said Andrew. Kei hated people that dropped that line. Life wasn't short at all in reality. Life was long and it was longer no matter what good or bad decision you made. Kei wanted life to be long. She wanted to immerse herself in the moments of a long life; especially after Catherine's entry into the world. That was an experience of a lifetime and nothing could come close.

What was Andrew going to remember when was on his deathbed: the nine hundred women he slept with? No one remembers nine hundred people. No one cares about roulette, casino chips and over/unders on their deathbed. Kei would never forget Catherine. The key to life was the few people who made worth living. Catherine, David, Chopper, Grimm, Snow, and all of them were who Kei wanted to remember fifty years from now on her deathbed. That was her wish.

"Hey, you know what this tells me. You can't handle being around just one women. They bore you off the bat. You do the opposite what _normal_ people do: finding stuff about the opposite sex you can like. It's one thing to look at a woman, but you're using them as objects. Take it from experience; if you're doing everything right for one woman...you don't have time for another goddamn woman. One great woman beats five good ones you'll only see once in a dance club." said David. He reached over and grabbed his wife's head and pulled it over, kissing her on the forehead. She recoiled in a bit of bashfulness.

"Oh stop, not here." Kei said, laughing, but feeling embarrassed. Any other time a display of affection would be most welcome. Of course, David and Kei still had to play their alter egos.

"Nah...I tried that. I got burned a few times. I figure why not play the game too? No sense in getting played when you can play it yourself. You can make the rules." said Andrew. Spider looked at her watch.

"Oh, damn. It's time for the briefing. Let's get a move on." said Lillian.

_**Caste van Alde**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**November 30, 2016**_

_**1200 hrs**_

Masson and everyone else were furious, depressed, and confused. How did it happen? There were a myriad of problems to be addressed. Sasha's motorcade was attacked by terrorists; the allies had retaken Vijrundi in the matter of a single day and worse yet were the rumors that Rahab Squadron had been completely lost. Masson demanded a full investigation and was now convening with his staff. The "official" head of Intelligence Division was Chief Investigator Rory Lashus, who was merely window dressing for Portia as she was the _real_ leader of Intelligence Division now. With them were the usual movers and shakers: Morales, Ignis, Percival, Zorba, Rossi, Crixus, and several other top Army commanders like Massimo and Mortanus. Makin was absent, but understandably so.

"The Looking Glass?! He's still alive?! That's impossible! We killed him!" Ignis said upon hearing Lashus bring up his name.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's go through this again. They're in the motorcade and their some twenty some clicks from Duan. They're attacked by RPGs and the driver is killed with some sort of anti-vehicle rifle. Is this correct?" said Masson.

"Not really. There were three cars that were attacked with an anti-vehicle rifle, believed to be an M95 Barret Mark X Series with fifty caliber rounds. The lead car was destroyed with an Improvised Explosive Device of some sort. The rear car was targeted with some kind of infrared tracking anti-vehicle missile launcher. That explained the high pitched screaming sound your daughter heard. Had it been an RPG, there would have been a whooshing sound. This tells us three distinct facts." said Portia. Percival noticed that Portia said, "Your daughter" instead of using Sasha's name. It was no secret that for some reason only known to her, Portia considered Sasha a black sheep. Lord Masson never seemed to care much though.

"One...there were two shooters. They destroyed the front and rear cars at the nearly at same time with two different weapons. Two, the central vehicle in the motorcade was the primary target. Three, their goal was not to kill the occupants. Killing the driver was merely to get the car to stop. It was a flat road with little embankments. One had to have been at least a mile away for anti vehicle rifle to be effective. The second was closer...had to be for the missile. And their purpose was to deliver this...message of hate." Lashus continued slamming the propaganda he got from Sasha on the table.

"Hell of a message." Percival said shaking his head.

"Who is this Looking Glass man anyway?" Zorba said. Ignis and Percival groaned. They hated bringing up memories of this man, but for entirely different reasons.

"_The Looking Glass_ was the title of our top agent from Orchid before it was shut down." said Ignis.

"Wasn't he a member of the coup?" asked Portia.

"Actually...no. We only...um...thought he was." Ignis said with some embarrassment.

"And I _still_ say he got a raw deal in that...incident. Don't blame me, Dimitri. You're the one who screwed the pooch on that one." Percival, interrupting.

"He was too dangerous to be left alive anyway!" Ignis erupted.

"Enough! Who is he?" Zorba interjected.

"Seeing as you're new to this...party, I'll take that burden myself. He was a man named Carlo Tenenbaum; a very good killer. He was one of the old Orchid Division's top assassins. The guy was a monster. He was contracted by our Division to knock off terrorists, political dissidents, and paramilitary leaders. He only had one deal breaker...no women, no children. We used him fourteen times in six years. He always got the job done...rather violently. Everyone that tried to run from him only died tired." said Morales.

"He was quite an honorable guy. Everyone respected him. But he was an _animal_. He had a talent for knocking off people in a smooth, flawless method. Whenever we needed one of our own wacked...he was the man. Tenenbaum was a one man wrecking crew. But his personality never fit a traitor's profile. That's why I felt he got screwed." said Percival.

"Someone, we're not sure, made an accusation that he was a member of the coup. He knew our methods and knew he would have never gotten out alive. Frankly, in retrospect...I don't blame him. My former superior before he met his untimely demise at the hands of a jilted woman...ordered him to be...liquidated with no questions asked. We couldn't dare get close to the house. He was a damn good sniper and could have dropped any of us from a mile. So we called up artillery...dropped _twenty nine _artillery rounds on his house." said Ignis.

"But remember, they never found him or his wife's bodies. A bunch of other people but..." Morales said. Ignis groaned again. He'd thought he was done with that nightmare...now he was back.

"So he vanishes for six years...and now he's back. Not a peep out of the resistance since they were shut down...now he's back. Just great. Just what we need. An ex-Orchid with a chip on his shoulder looking for revenge while we're losing the war in Yuktobania. Just...peachy." said Portia.

"Forget about the Looking Glass for now. The allies have the momentum...we need to take it back. We need a decisive victory and fast." Masson said simply.

"What about this group...this 373? Where do they fit in the order of battle?" asked Percival.

"If he knows the exact identity of a squadron name...one or two things have occurred. Either they have a contact with Osean intelligence or some Spec Ops group...or we have a mole in our organization. Maybe both." said Masson.

"I'll get right on it." Portia said.

Masson adjourned the meeting soon after, a move that slightly mystified some of the members. He hardly spoke more about Sasha; it was almost as if she was an afterthought. Graysel, if he wasn't injured, would have probably raised all sorts of hell. But then again, Masson was already in one of his moods and he was already working on other plans. Besides, Percival hated long meetings. He thought about Makin for a moment, and how his perpetual cynicism should fade upon his return. Morales knew little about Makin's situation as they weren't necessarily the best of friends. But he was concerned.

"Where's Makin? He's still mourning his son?" Morales asked.

"I'm afraid so. Of course, your relatives' deaths didn't stop you from working. That's why you're where you are and he is where he is. And I think you are both content with your lives. As is I." said Percival, both complimenting and taking a shot at Morales. Morales could say nothing...he knew _exactly_ what Percival was hinting at. Rossi was also walking by them having heard the conversation.

"We can't _all_ be heartless bastards. Someone has to have a conscience in our group." he said as he passed by Morales and Percival. Percival laughed almost directly in his face. In fact, both Morales and Percival laughed.

"Yeah...where are we going to find that person? Hell, all of us being heartless _made_ this empire. And we're going to win this war the same way we made this destitute land one country." said Percival.

Suddenly, while Rossi shook his head and walked away. Suddenly, an officer stopped him. With him was a decorated, uniformed pilot; someone Percival didn't really recognize.

"Sir...we have some terrible news." said the officer.

"What is it?" Rossi said. He almost knew that without saying. If these men were here to report directly to him...things must have gotten completely mucked up.

"It's confirmed. Operation Canary Trap has failed. Commander Daydenko is dead. We found the plane wreckage near the border and her body...which was rather mangled. We concluded that it was an ejection problem. The rest of the squadron's been lost. Members of the 303rd were also shot down. No survivors." the officer said somewhat hesitantly. He seemed shaken by the news. The news seemed to make Rossi sick as well.

For Percival, the news of the death of a decorated operative of Orchid was a major blow. But the fact she was a top scoring ace as well, and a symbol of pride for the Versuan Air Force was an even greater one...bordering on a national tragedy. Few outside the military realized what Molina, Morala, Daydenko, Mora, Yancing and Josen meant to morale. To lose Daydenko would send shockwaves through the entire military. The civilians could care less...for obvious reasons. Percival approached the officer.

"What?! Dorian? The Scourge...dead?" Percival said.

"There's more. Elements of the 373rd they were hunting did her in. She went in there outnumbering them...and lost. Thank God, Bel Squadron showed up when they did...they managed to stop the bleeding but..." said the officer in a panicked, quick tone.

"Calm down. We must discreet about this. If cast in the wrong light this could be a devastating blow to morale and it's already low enough after losing the Navy." said Rossi.

"I'm afraid we're too late. The allies already know. Word's spreading through their camps. White Knight Seven intercepted a piece of the communications. There was a lot of ECM jamming." said the decorated flight officer. He pulled out a small tape recorder.

_Sierra Hotel, man! You did it! We beat them!_

_That was one of their top aces! We owe you a drink friend!_

_Drink?! Buy this guy the damn bar for crying out loud!_

_...What passion my friend. We owe you too much._

_...Thanks._

Percival winced. The very idea of them celebrating the death of one the White Crow's heroes was sickening to say the least.

"So what went down? What was the purpose of this operation?" asked Percival gritting his teeth.

Rossi looked in agony over the after action reports filed by the survivors. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was supposed to be a simple ambush, but things went to hell rather quickly. It was a battle of total chaos.

"I've read every single report three times. Each one tells a totally different story. I made a modified copy with some help from Commander Mora. This should tell most of the facts with all the emotion removed from the incident." said the officer giving Rossi a folder with a page of typed information.

"Okay, here's what happened..." began Rossi.

To be continued in...Chapter 12: Deciever


	12. Deceiver

Note: This chapter underwent some significant changes. Also, parts of the previous chapter have changed. Especially the ending part of that. So if you see something that doesn't look right from a continutity aspect from the previous chapter, chances are I changed that part in the previous part. But don't be afraid to mention it.

Chapter 12: Deceiver

"_We cut, we slash, we burn, we shoot, and we destroy. The battlefield is our playground and its weapons are our deadly toys." - Sodel Josen_

_(Modified Combat Action Report)_

_Operation Canary Trap_

_Date: 11/29/2016_

_Filed by: Captain Lerro, 15__th__ Fighter Wing S-2, Intelligence Section_

_Vastos Air Base_

_Vastos, Verusa_

"_We were planning to ambush those pilots in that mysterious 373. We received intelligence about some of the pilots that was confirmed those who fought them. Two Hornets, three F-15s, two F-16s. Many had distinctive symbols on their fighters. We only confirmed five: a spider, a Dragon, a medusa-like creature, some kind of angelic figure, and a demonic figure. But something went terribly wrong. They were ambushed. Some leaked critical information to the enemy...and our pilots laying the ambush became the ambushed. It was the perfect place for an ambush...but everything went to hell in a hurry..."_

"_The stunning thing was how fast it happened. It happened so fast in relative time that we did not even learn of their failure until now. It was an attack without any high-end support as to not draw attention to the attackers, radio silence even..."_

"_There were references to something called 'Deceiver'. As present, investigations are being held into what this Deceiver is. Commander Josen of 304__th__ Squadron, codename: Bel reported as such._

_**13 Hours Earlier...**_

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1600 hrs**_

Lucien Jackson was surrounded by a host of personalities in the squadron he "ran". They were sitting around the briefing room awaiting the information. It would be the first night mission the squadron would perform. Being a pilot himself, he could understand their idiosyncrasies. But as a part of the CIA, he could not afford the opportunity to feel compassion or empathy for these people. He just had to know what and who he was dealing with. If one could break down the typical personalities of the fighter pilots one would probably get a few typecast roles. There usually five: Workmen, Mavericks, Enthusiasts, Casuals and Consummates. Workmen were the pilots who weren't as brave as other pilots. They maintain professionalism when needed; however, they mostly just do their jobs to do it. Paulo Scirro was a workman. He never tried to be too brave and always followed orders; adjusting when necessary. Mavericks were a wild, varied bunch. They usually were very skilled, but generally want to do things their own way. They were a frustrating bunch to deal with. And Lucien, having left it unsaid, was thankful that Michael Sachsenronde, a classic Maverick, was gone.

Enthusiasts were the types of people who were more substance than style. They are zealots, and love combat and are willing to do what is necessary. They are more professional than Mavericks. The only downside is that they tend to be myopic, over-aggressive, and generally self-centered people in combat. Polly Elbe was a good example of this. Kei Nagase was never anything like this, but she was fast approaching this type of behavior. Lucien was picking up how she was behaving in combat. It was a total aberration from what she would have done six years ago. In fact, both she and her husband were hard to define anymore. They were no longer the ruthless, consummate professionals like Cormorance Alou; the kind of pilots Lucien liked. But they were far from the casual pilots like Andrew Fisch who had flashes of potential; however, he had a notorious reputation for mailing it in unless it meant absolute death. Lillian Izzo was far too eccentric of a person to be a consummate professional.

This group was a bizarre mix of personalities and the general feeling was they were getting to big for themselves. Considering the nature of these missions, Lovecraft and Nagase insisted...along with the rest of the squadron to boot, that useless Yuke kid stay around the base. Lucien had enough kids of his own, much less some kid off the street, and he had even more problems to deal with. The Allies were massing for an invasion of Versua to put the White Crow out of business.

"Okay, let's get down to business. We've all but driven the Versuans out of the Yuke mainland. The last infantry units pulled out last night. The invasion plan is somewhat simple on paper. Invade Versua, take the five principle cites in the north and central plains. Vastos, Valuria, Disra, Basra, San Salvene, and Duan. After that, we head south to Christos, Ciudad, and Clavis and Casta van Alde. War over. Of course, we got to take out that Dispater Tower along the way, but we'll burn that bridge when we come to it. The enemy has mass reserves of firepower and we need to reduce that firepower."

"So what do we have to do?" said Paulo.

"The Madam President has forbidden the Allies from crossing the border on the ground, but not in the air. Normally, we would assign you to more special tasks. We were going to have you on a mission to support our Horseshoe Artillery Unit in seeking out and destroying enemy artillery sites across the Peras River that demarcates the border over a fourth of Versua." continued Jackson.

"...And? What changed?" David said.

"A lot has changed; factors beyond our control have changed our priorities. Your exploits, wild and dangerous as they are, have attracted a lot of unwanted attention from our enemies. They've put a hit out on you."

David and Kei stared at each other for a second. Their states of minds were the major difference that could be interpreted from the facial expressions. There was the hint of a smile on her face...while worry crept into the mind his mind. Although Lucien was right about this, it just didn't seem what David was expecting. In the last war, their importance wasn't realized until a major even occurred. The Yukes didn't even think about putting a hit out on Wardog until the war was almost completely lost...the circumstances of which were still under much debate.

"They've got bounties on us?! Are you kidding me?" Polly said.

"Well, not literally. That mission you were going to be assigned on was to be ambush for them. You were going to be jumped by several enemy aces...approximately twenty four of them." said Jackson.

"Whoa...man, I'm glad...wait...who told you that?" said Andrew, almost clutching his chest as if he was having a heart attack.

"We got the information from a source in the Versuan Resistance. The ambush is going to take place in this area." said Jackson, displaying a map of a group of ridges and the river itself. "This is Camord Ridge. It's not really a ridge as it is a 1,500 foot series of small mountains. Without going all geological on you people, area is heavy in electromagnetic jamming because of the type of rocks in the mountain. The artillery is right on the edge of the right face of the range...the ambush point is there. Fourteen miles out from the mountain. Their goal will be precise timing. This is where you come in." said Jackson.

"We get to turn the turn the hunters into the hunted right?" said Kei, rather enthusiastically.

"Precisely. The mountains are divided by a narrow canyon about three or four miles in length...here." said Jackson pointing at a section of the mountain with the laser pointer. "Those artillery units must be destroyed. But it won't be you that does it. Another unit, simulating your callsigns, flight patterns and planes, will attack at the time you were ordered. They show up, and probably shoot them down. But it won't be you. Because you'll sneak up behind them using the canyon walls and you'll pop them from behind. Now, let's get the itinerary down to a science..."

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1700 hrs**_

Baraka Molina and Xalia Masson were of different minds on Sodel Josen. Xalia thought he was a nutcase. Baraka was always admired of a man like Sodel Josen who had a complete and utter and dedication to flying. It was like a dream to him. The only problem was that he was crazy as a loon from time to time; but that didn't affect the way he viewed Sodel. Xalia couldn't talk to the guy without getting some strange spiel about God and his will. Xalia always felt that Sodel was a complete fraud for using _God's will _to supplement his own volition. Xalia actually heard Kaida say that he took his job way too seriously. Dorian agreed. They were all hanging around the squadron ready room. It seemed a strange difference between sides. The Versuan pilots were professional and battle hardened, but was mostly casual in the menial duties.

Sodel Josen was a man on the very edge of thirty but he looked twenty five. His blond hair and his green eyes made him a popular figure among the ladies. The problem was...he was only a hair away from being insane. He grew up in a religious family...but something happened during the last war that made him into some religious nut. But it was all a facade really because Sodel was as corrupt a human as they came: a liar and a part time aerial contract killer...or mercenary (depending upon who was asked) for Orchid at one point.

"I smell...victory approaching. I know you're excited. You'll finally be able to best that man who's haunted you for so long. Oh wait...you're not going aren't you." said Josen.

"More like annoyed. To be honest, I wasn't going to let Alex steal the glory I deserve. He has no idea what it means to me." said Molina. Xalia scoffed. She didn't like Baraka's handling, or rather botching, of the situation with Alex.

"So, Mr. Kaida...you said you recognized this man?" asked Sodel with a bit of scorn in his mind. Sodel regarded Kaida as a renegade and a terrible team player. Sodel did not respect such people. Dorian was much of the same, but as a friend of his...Sodel often rationalized her behavior, as most people did with flawed friends.

"Yeah. I thought I heard that name before, seen this man. When I was Heirlark during the 2010 war, I was bedridden with mono. After the war ends, I get better and I was paired in peace time with this man. I was just a young guy, and my term was almost up. This guy was also just getting started. But like you Baraka, he was thrown into the action rather early and was already a good pilot. He really taught me a lot of stuff. He was a cold calculating man. One of our wingman, who was a rather loutish maverick, was a man who often mailed it in, and spent a lot of time gambling. His name was Andrew...Fisch I believe. Soon after, both men were transferred to a different base and I left. But the man in this photo is a fellow Versuan...Cormorance Alou."

"He's definitely a Versuan." said Dorian.

"He lived in Rouge Park, and he did nothing but talk about his girlfriend Potenza and their exploits or talk about how bad this country was back in the old days. He wasn't a good conversationalist. But he was incredible in an airplane; he was a complete, consummate professional. He was probably the greatest pilot I saw. Alex says he met the Four Wings when they came to Heierlark. But I was dating this wonderful girl...she was probably the reason I got mono in the first place. I never forgot him though. That kind of person was an Astaire of a pilot and a man. A true class act." said Kaida with a smile on his face.

Baraka was a bit indifferent. He didn't care about this man...he wanted the Dragon's emblem. He wanted him to be the masterpiece of a brilliant flight career. Xalia laughed though at Kaida's..."encounter". He was a ladies' man, but Xalia knew that he was man of undying trust and fidelity with whoever was his woman at the time. Sasha was that woman this time though.

"It's too bad we got to kill him. So he's leading it?" said Dorian.

"No...He doesn't lead the squadron. Which makes it all the more imperative to eliminate these people with extreme prejudice. We aces are the righteous hand of God and that hand is going to coming down on these men!" said Sodel.

"The only thing I want to know...is where they are. I have a bone to pick, not with this man...but the one who took out my squadron before. And it wasn't this guy who did it...I can tell. It was the Dragon emblem that did it." said Dorian.

"That would fit. Cormorance actually had a thing for ancient Eastern mythology. Dragons aren't really prevalent in those ancient tales." said Kaida.

"They are heading for some bombing mission in the Camord Ridge on the border. We are going to intercept them...and wipe them clean from the world's face." said Sodel.

Kaida was wondering about the mission, but he was also wondering about Sasha. She was supposed to have arrived an hour ago. He was disappointed because he had a whole bouquet of White Orchids for Sasha. Now he wouldn't get to see her before the mission. But Sodel was preparing his usual ritualistic pre-mission devotional. Xalia rolled her eyes at this nut job of an ace. He closed his eyes and folded his hands.

"Let us pray. For we go into the valley of the shadow of death, we shall fear no evil. Because we are the darkness in that valley, ready to swallow the evil from the pretenders of good. Because there is no color to righteousness; only the act. Our feet shall swiftly carry out the command of God to strike down these enemies of our fearless leader. And their allies shall fear us even if we are destroyed and snuffed out. We shall be the nightmare in their dreams. Amen." said Sodel.

"Oh, God help us." Xalia said exasperated and sarcastically.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 29, 2016**_

_**1800 hrs**_

David and Kei were merely hanging around their quarters. Sueltana had done her part to make her feel welcome. She didn't say where she got them, but she gave everyone in the squadron a White Orchids, a type of flower that was indigenous to this particular area of Yuktobania. She wanted them to keep them on their persons, but Andrew secretly, and rather ungratefully, threw his away...claiming "he didn't need good luck charms". Lillian clipped hers at the stalk and wore the top part in her hair during the briefing, and Cormorance was trying to find a way to preserve his so he could mail it home to his wife.

But David and Kei were of the same mind but had made decisions in reverse. David was committed to being here, but his mind was still filled with doubt. He wondered what other terrible things could happen. Just as long as he had Kei alive and well, everything seemed worth it. But he was constantly judging himself for this mind set even though it was a legitimate concern. Kei's mind set was considerably less complex. She wanted revenge, period dot. She wanted it cold, hard, and fast and she was willing to drop anyone that tried to stop her.

Her opinion was made rather clear once David brought up that doubt. He would regret that mistake.

"Do you ever...think all of this...is just bigger than us and our problems?" asked David.

"What?" Kei asked.

"I'm having that realization. Is it really not just about us anymore?" said David.

"I know we are but a small cog in this entire machine...and I don't care." Kei said nonchalantly.

David did a double take. David actually remembered Kei saying that at the start of the last war...but she never acted _indifferent_ about it. But before David could even finish the second word of his response...Kei came out in a shocking tone: a belligerent, angry one.

"Those sons of bitches..." she started, her voice vicious and cruel, "used us as test dummies for their weapons; a weapon that killed a lot of people on all sides: allies, civilians and their own soldiers! Where have you been for the last few weeks?"

David was in a state of trauma now. He'd never had to endure this kind of tongue lashing from this woman. Kei was definitely in another mind set.

"What...what happened didn't change for me either. But is really just for us...or her? I think our emotions are misplaced. Who is this for Kei; us...or her? Or _you_?" said David taking her to task for her words.

Kei's face twisted. Her words were vicious...now her countenance became the same. She aggressively approached him...almost dangerously close for an angry woman. She lifted her index finger and pointed it at him as she spoke.

"I _intend_ to carry out what I promised myself I'd do. And I intend to do that...with or without your help." said Kei in a soft, but harsh and acidic tone. With those words, he got up and left the room in a quick gait. David didn't even go after her. He couldn't figure out if she was venting or if she really meant what she said. He didn't see her go to a private room and cry her eyes out. She couldn't even face him. She'd sounded like a fool lashing out at the only man she ever loved or something she couldn't even figure out herself.

_**Over Southern Yuktobania-Versuan Border**_

_**November 30, 2016**_

_**0500 hrs**_

_You will approach the border at 0455 hrs. You will stay under 300 feet until you reach the pass. There will be total radio silence. Paulo will the end the radio silence once the pass has been reached. If everything goes according to plan, you'll show up behind the enemies and you'll be shooting fish in a barrel._

Lucien's briefing had been rather to the point. They'd flown for what felt like hours in total silence. The darkness was pierced with rather excellent nightvision goggles. The flight had been relatively smooth. They'd hit no SAMs, no AA guns, and no enemy response. Wardog was in business now. But the silence was terrible for the married couple of Wardog. One could cut the tension with a knife. David was so angry at Kei for her aggressive, hateful words earlier he didn't even look at her even when they were getting into their planes. He tried to cool himself down, but he couldn't even talk to her because of the radio silence orders. It was a intensely frustrating situation. For Kei, she felt ashamed she even said those harsh words to him but as he could not talk to her...she could not talk to him. Cormorance Alou had no idea the enemy knew who he was. But if they did...it was all the better. He wanted to leave a lasting image in the minds of the enemy. Alou could care or less about the Versuans even though he was a native himself. He only wanted to win and go home and to hell with anyone else in his way.

Andrew was indifferent mostly. He did want to win obviously, but he was more concerned with how his team did on the lines. He did relish the idea of an easy fight with the enemy. The others were also indifferent, mostly because they were consistent in the emotions about the war. Paulo, as usual, was the humorless leader who wanted a nice clean mission. Polly and Lillian were prepared to do their parts. There was little chemistry in the squad. They were a group of strange, varied personalities. They did have one goal. They were just that though...a group; they were no team.

_Another Allied Unit, Nova Squadron, will be attacking the right section of the mountain to distract the enemy. Don't worry, they, unlike you, are a heavily disciplined team. They will attack and probably take the brunt of the attack. Then...you'll show up and wipe them out from behind. Now, the canyon is narrow at the top...but its wide enough to pass through on the bottom. When you get there, don't waste any time. Use all your missiles and get the hell out of dodge._

As for Bel Squadron's Sodel Josen...his group was a team. Sodel was some dozen miles behind several of the friendly craft. The early morning darkness did not give away their bright yellow and black streaking paint schemes. Their mind was like one of the bee. They were workmen and good ones at that. He had the largest squad, nine planes, next to Hecate Squadron and their twelve. Hecate had been rather quiet lately. But that was the style of the understated Adon Mora, a man who Sodel Josen deeply respected. Mora was an old school dog fighter.

But Kaida was not someone who Josen respected at _all_. It wasn't that Kaida was a better pilot than he claimed...it was just that his presence defeated the purpose of the team-oriented nature of combat. He was a man who flew alone was a coward and a roguish spirit. A renegade who wasn't welcome in the sky or anywhere else; he was a man who only got the privilege because he married into Masson's family. Dorian was someone who despite being a squadron was more of a lone wolf as well. But for Dorian, that was her way. There was a method to her madness.

But when it happened...no one was ready for it. It was done in complete silence. The air was filled with a sudden destruction and chaos. No one saw it coming. For Wardog, it was the surprise of being right below the enemies in total radar malfunction. For Dorian, Sodel and Kaida...they were being watched from below and they didn't see it coming. Sure the missile alerts came up...but no one was expecting it.

"What the hell?!" one of the pilots said.

When it happened...no one was ready for it. A steady stream of heat seeking missiles came from the seven planes behind them. They were all carrying them; each Wardog plane packed to brim with heat seeking missiles. The Versuan aces had carried some, but they were prepared to ambush them outside the mountain area at longer range. They were at a disadvantage. Kaida, Sodel and Dorian cursed almost at the exact same time.

Kei came on with a vengeance. She was angry now. Once she had the lock, she fired two Sidewinder missiles at the first two planes she made contact with. She was thirteen miles away from the lead plane! The pilot never saw it coming. He tried to evade but even as he launched flares, the missile was a few feet from his tail pipe. The slaughter began as fast as Wardog arrived.

No one was fully aware of the surprise. Not even Dorian who suddenly found herself under fire. David recognized the Rafales and targeted them. He didn't even pay attention to where Kei was, he just fired. The two wingman had moved to engage them didn't have a chance. David had timed it just right. By the time he fired, one had fired at him. But David had the angles and the timing to evade it. It was too close. One missed but another hit, causing the damaged plane to crash into the back of the second!

Something snapped in Kei. She went postal and focused all her negative energies on one source. Ammon Kaida. She'd spotted the Berkut she fought before. She knew it was him. The same black devilish-outlined scheme she could even identify underneath the NVGs. She chased him viciously. She didn't even look to see David over there. She didn't worry about him. But perhaps it was shame in the back of her mind. Now she focused her hatred on this pilot. But Incubus didn't know it was her in particular. Nor did he care. He was trying to figure out the situation.

"Get out of the way!!" she yelled at the two approaching enemy aircraft, Hornets from the likes of them.

She fired two missiles, missing one Bel squadron fighter and hitting another, causing it to disintegrate in one shot. She almost collided with Polly and Lillian who were all over Bel leader. But Sodel wasn't intimidated. He was not afraid of the aerial dance. He could compete with any craft that was thrown his way. Besides, he had plenty of allies to help him...but they were dropping like flies. The 304th that had accompanied them were only supposed to be support. But they were liabilities now as they were being wiped out.

Dorian knew things were bad. How could this have happened?! They were in position! They had the allied planes right where they wanted them! It was only then that they'd been hoodwinked. The allied pilots were decoys for this 373! Dorian kept turning and turning, trying to avoid the chaos. Dorian was suddenly hit by Cormorance's missile. The missile was a stray one, but had exploded; destroying one other Verusan craft. But Dorian couldn't tell it was Alou. Everyone else was in a full panic and trying to do everything to evade the enemy. They were all over them.

Her craft should have been able to outfox these enemies; they were rolling on raw passion, skill and a ferocity she had never seen before. The truth was that for all the combat experience they had, it was the first time in her life that she'd faced enemies of this caliber. She'd built her kill counts off weaker enemies; most of the aces did as well. But the first time they encountered fierce, truly determined enemies, things weren't as easy...even for all their combat experience and flight hours.

David flew through two firing Bel aircraft, but their firing was in vain as they were far too close to Dragon to do it. As David focused his hate on that missile lock, he wasted no time and fired two missiles. One for Dorian...and one just in case. Dorian didn't realize until it was too late that she'd used up all her flares. She panicked and kept clicking the switch...but nothing. She tried to spin and dive at extreme angles, G-forces tearing at her body. But it was to no avail. She felt a violent crash against the backside of her fighter. She lost all control and all of her power. Suddenly, the rarely felt emotion of fear was building in her once again.

"Damn!" she yelled. Above, Ammon saw her being hit and decided to rush to her rescue...but that damned pilot was on him again! It was now he decided that this was the same woman who tailed him long before.

"Dorian! Are you alright!?" said Ammon.

"What do you think!?" she snidely remarked. Of course, that remark made Ammon question why he went to help her in the first place.

"Eject, woman, eject!" Sodel said. Sodel had long respected Dorian. To have her lost here would be a major blow to the air force. But Dorian didn't care about morale.

Dorian felt sick. The eject handle was working but as she drifted towards the ground in flames...she didn't pull it. She could have fought another day...but for what purpose? She cared not for the few people that cared for her because they had no place in her lonely, focused life on flying. It was all Dorian wanted to do. Dorian believed the devotion to this art of combat required a single minded focus devoid of personal issues. She felt she was better than pilots like Ammon, who was racked with personal issues, or even Baraka...who had someone in his life flying alongside him. Like Bel Leader, she was a pious student of the arts of aerial war. But in the end, it ended as quickly as any of the easiest fights she had in the beginning of the old war.

That was the sad reality of the life she led. Death came quickly and it came without prejudice or bias. Death didn't care who it touched. It just did...and air to air combat was quick and painless until you were hit. And when it happened...you had a small chance of escape. But escaping would do nothing for Dorian. Dorian had an immense reputation among her peers and that reputation was important. This was an embarrassment to her pride and her accomplishments. It was shame that drove her now.

But most important of all, this Osean was...something else. There was something unsettling about him. The man who'd shot down her and seven of her squadron members. There was something evil about him...something demonic. Perhaps Bel Leader had been right. Rahab was no more. Her only regret was not the evil things she did, but not being able to defeat this Allied evil that had been unleashed upon the Versuan World. So Dorian took her defeat with some honor, something she lacked in life, and accepted death with some pride. The world approached and her world exploded. She knew only Hell awaited her. And it was her last thought as she past into the fiery Underworld of the afterlife.

"Dorian! Incubus here...did anyone see her get out?!" said Kaida. Kaida realized that it was time to cut bait and get out. One benefit of flying alone without direct orders was he could leave when he wanted to. He was already hit and couldn't risk dying. Of course, he had no intention of dying now. Of course, he didn't make any friends with Bel Squad; but he didn't want to be their friends anyway. Also, he still had this damn woman pilot on his tail! Kaida hightailed it for the return point.

"Negative! Damn! All craft withdraw from the battle zone!" said Bel Leader.

Sodel knew the jig was up at this point. He was in shock at the devastation. These Oseans were gods among men. Their leader, the Dragon, (or who he thought was the leader) had almost single-handedly destroyed an entire squadron. But that couldn't right...these Oseans were no gods. They were devils. They were Evil Incarnate. They were nothing but a malignant presence on the battlefield. Their leader seemed like the spawn of the Devil. He was the ultimate betrayer, the Deceiver. Sodel knew it was his mission to strike down this villain with the hammer of God. The devil had clipped one of the angels' wings and caused it to fall to the earth. He swore to repay that favor twofold.

"This man is a devil! A Deceiver. Alright..._Deceiver_...we'll meet again. I'll be back with the entire arsenal of God on my side." he said over an open channel. With that, Bel began the process of fleeing the battlefield. The allied planes moved over to continue...but they were too far away for a full pursuit. They flanked the heroes as Paulo realized they were very well strung out with no missiles left.

"Okay, let's get the hell out of here!" said Paulo. But the others were not slow to congratulate

"Sierra Hotel, man! You did it! We beat them!" Cormorance said, not even mad Jonathan stole his kill. The others weren't even aware they were being recorded. They were caught up in the excitement. "That was one of their top aces! We owe you a drink friend!"

"Drink?! Buy this guy the damn bar for crying out loud!" said Andrew.

"Ava...What passion my friend. We owe you too much." said Polly.

"...Thanks." Kei replied.

"You wiped out an entire squadron! Wow." Lillian said.

"Those other planes got away, but...we're all in the sky and they're not. Good enough for me." said Paulo. As they began to fly back across the river, Andrew had an interesting point.

"That was way easier than I thought." he said.

"Yeah, in the movies and games you got that one plane that flies crazy and you got to shoot him for ten freaking minutes." said Lillian.

David let out an enthusiastic laugh. Kei also let the fire out as well. She could barely breathe. The demon in her had been unleashed. But as that happened, as she calmed down...she realized she was in the same mental state she was when he started the battle. She shook her head a bit. She had to apologize. She couldn't let this fester; neither could afford it to.

_**Caste van Alde**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**November 30, 2016**_

_**1330 hrs**_

Chief Investigator Lashus requested a meeting with Generals Morales and Rossi to discuss the incident. Percival had a sudden engagement at the Dispater Tower to investigate a major equipment failure during a test. Rossi had finished reading the after action reports that were ordered...although they were filed in haste. The operation had been an abject failure because of intelligence leaks. Once Rossi had read the report, Lashus responded. Lashus wasn't officially military, but he was a top member of the White Crow's government and a close friend with Portia and Masson himself. He was inside the "Inner Circle" and thus his orders could, if Masson deemed it so, supersede their own military authority. That was a rare sort of circumstance. Portia Masson, Graysel, Dr. Makin and Dr. Zorba, as well General Ignis were good examples. Morales and Percival were exception. He was military, but inside the inner brain trust of Masson's circle. It was a confusing (and some would argue corrupt) system...but it worked for the time being.

"So, that's what happened?" said Lashus.

"It was a total ambush. They didn't even see it coming." Rossi said disappointed. "It was the perfect spot for an ambush...my question is...how did they _know_ we were going to ambush them?!"

"We definitely have major security issues. Portia is taking control of internal affairs. She'll be definitely tightening up security. As Chief Investigator, I will be handling external issues. I'll be looking for insurgent activity. We will get to the bottom of this, I promise you." said Lashus.

"What about what the current battle plans for the defensive units?" said Rossi to Morales, having already made his adjustments to an inevitable defensive battle in the north.

"General Crixus has operational control of all front line troops along the main area of resistance. He believes, as do I, that the enemy will attack through the Moab Madra. We must be prepared." replied Morales.

"If you're going to be investigating insurgents, you're going to need a lot more help than your current staff." added Morales.

"I know. I'm locating former Intel and party members from six or seven years ago. I have a meeting with a certain acquaintance in Basra in a few days..." said Lashus. "Now, If you'll excuse me, I have to prepare the official statement about Commander Daydenko's death." said Lashus, leaving the room. Rossi was rather put off by Lashus and his cronies undermining his authority, but whatever Masson wanted...he got. Morales, though, was all too willing to be a brown-noser to William Masson. But even he had doubt in these aces Rossi had promoted so much.

"Perhaps we've put too much faith in these aces." said Morales.

"No...They are excellent pilots. They were just thrown into an extraordinary situation and it wasn't their day." said Rossi. But Morales didn't need excuses. He was more into the obvious. It was clear that the aces weren't getting it done. Something new needed to be done...or perhaps a certain someone needed to be replaced. And if it came to the latter, he'd know the perfect person to replace him.

"We don't have the window for mistakes Rossi. Now we're facing an invasion and our best can't keep up with their best!" said Morales.

"We can only compare the best to the best. Our best is still in reserve. We'll see when they are on an equal footing. Until then, we can only do what we can." said Rossi.

"I can only hope for your sake, friend. Lord Masson isn't as forgiving as he used to be." said Morales. Rossi saw Masson one way, Morales another. But both were right...they just didn't realize it.

"When has Masson _ever_ been the forgiving type?" retorted Rossi.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**November 30, 2016**_

_**1330 hrs**_

It took quite awhile to get back to base. The mid air refueller had mechanical trouble and they had to land at a forward base. While there, they had to answer all kinds of questions from excited Allied pilots. Finally, morale went through the roof. The Allies were in the presence of legends. They finally returned and Kei had some talking to do. Kei had felt terrible for what she said before. She felt terrible now in the back of her mind. But it was over now. Now she lay back on the bed her and David shared, still breathing the hateful fire out of her lungs. David had sat down next to her, and she got up to face him.

"He called you the Deceiver. Funny, two wars, two nicknames...you really bring out a lot in the enemy." said Kei, referring to what they'd learned from the enemy. Oddly, David only responded with facial expressions. Finally, Kei came out with her regret.

"Look, I'm sorry about getting angry at you earlier. I just...I just miss her so much that it made me do things I hated myself for; it was just...I don't know... " said Kei, looking misty-eyed. David took her head right next to his.

"Look, it's okay love. I miss her just as much as you do. But...I realized something when I was on that mission." said David.

"When we were fighting, we were filled with hate and forgot why we were here. We both had so much hate in us that...we fought each other. I don't want us to fight. Because if we let Catherine's death tear us both apart, then the enemy will win. Let's not forget about her...but let's not let her death become our own. Neither of us wants that to happen." said David.

"You're right. When I was out there, I felt alone with all that hate. You could have been there...but I wouldn't have noticed. No...I can't go through that anymore." said Kei strongly. "I won't."

After a long moment of the two simply sitting next to each other, Kei suddenly had an aggressive impulse yet again. But it wasn't to spew her selfish dialogue that she did hours ago. She made a playful, yet assertive push with both of her hands, causing her spouse to fall back on the bed. David soon found himself looking directly up at Kei's flushed visage. He was face to face, nose to nose, brown eye to blue eye...and more enjoyable, lips to lips. After a very long minute, she broke off the kiss and remained only a few inches from his face. He was enjoying the warm touch of her skin. Her smile was filled with infectious joy and David felt as if he'd inhaled laughing gas. It was almost as if their grievances had never happened.

"So...let's pledge allegiance to each other and leave the hate out of the war. Make Catherine the memory...not the reason." said Kei, her eyes drooping somewhat and her voice in a serious tone. But that smile came back and both their worlds lit up.

If only it that were easy. For a mere moment, they'd forgotten about the enemy they were dealing with. But then again, how could anyone outside the inner circles of the enemy...know what the Versuan government's true nature was? But this couple didn't care. They were on a sheer emotional high now, with all their problems having faded away.

Sueltana was just wandering around the place; by now she knew where not to go. She had peeked in the slightly cracked where Ava and Jonathan were "snogging" as Andrew would say. She let out a slight giggle and was even polite enough to close the door. She wrote a rather poignant entry in her diary.

_Ava and Jonathan have so much fun together. They kinda look like my parents used to act. But I'll probably never see them again. The men from the south have been kicked out of our home. But I still can't go home. But...these people here...they've been so nice to me. Apart from that guy who tells the others what to do. That big dark-skinned man didn't want me here. But everyone else wanted me here, so I'm still here. They feel like I belong with them. I gave them these white flowers for luck. I found them outside this place. I think they like them. Ava and Jonathan though...they are in love...and I saw them KISSING. But they look so happy. I haven't been happy in a long time...and now I think I am. _

_**Basra, Versua**_

_**December 3, 2016**_

_**1300 hrs**_

Rue Daydenko was not surprised her sister had died. She died the way she lived; she did in a ruthless and a reckless way. It was tragic in a sense; to everyone that cared. Dorian stopped caring about everyone but herself when she became a pilot. Sure Rue's sister was forever gone, it didn't make one bit of difference to Rue. Because Rue knew Dorian and the way she lived and quite frankly...she had it coming. Rue had long left that life in Orchid behind when she realized what she'd gotten herself into. But Dorian continued in that life and did many horrible things during that time period. Rue did her share for Orchid, albeit a very small one, but she'd regretted it every day of her life since.

Now she'd moved far away from it all, just trying to enjoy the life she carved out with her spouse and her son since she left the White Crow. But those six years had been hard ones. She left the party because she didn't agree with their methods and as a matter of principle she relinquished any support from them. She went back to the grind that normal people of Versua were forced to endure. For six years, she'd scratched and clawed her way back to respectability. The community of Basra was close and tightly knit. They took care of their own and rarely trusted the authorities. How could they? The police and military had long been overrun with corruption.

Now Rue had seen the cold reality of Verusan life under the White Crow and even gladder she left. Rue didn't hate Dorian though as much as she was indifferent about her. Dorian never called or wrote her sister even when they weren't as distant as they were before she died. Dorian never came to Rue's wedding. Dorian never saw her niece. She just didn't care. Carmone, her husband, had taken their son Gio, to Cathedral for the afternoon. She was expecting them to return rather soon. And to think Carmone had some crazy design about helping the resistance...!

For most people, Rue leaving was an afterthought. It didn't affect the country at all. But for Chief Investigator Rory Lashus, Rue had always been on her mind. He came to Basra, an unforgiving place for White Crow members, on his own volition to seek out Rue. Lashus knew she lived in the quiet Vaseh district. Lashus could never figure out why she left the party. The "incident" that caused her to leave Orchid was a terrible mistake; though it wasn't Lashus' fault. He was surprised at where she lived. She lived in an medium sized room upstairs on the fifth floor of a rundown apartment building.

Lashus hated visiting Basra, as it was the life he long left behind and didn't want to see again. Rory had grown up in this city, and had introduced this woman to the party and fell in love with her. But Rory, being the egoistic opportunist that he was made a choice. He gained a lot of favor with the important people in the Masson family...but his actions made him an enemy of Rue. Of course, it was the sole reason he was Chief Investigator and Rue was living in illegal loft housing. As he knocked on the door, a blonde haired woman answered the door. She was only two years younger than Dorian at an even thirty, but she actually looked slightly more attractive than her late sister. It had been a long time since Rory had seen Rue and smiled at her presence. Her subsequent expression wiped the smile off his face.

"What do you want?" she said. The scorn on her voice could be felt. He could feel he wasn't wanted here. He entered the apartment, his face almost saying, "You live..._her_e?"

"I no doubt you've heard about Dorian. We're all devastated by her death." said Lashus.

"Why are you treating her like that? She was no hero." said Rue.

"You should know. She meant a lot to us." replied Lashus.

"She's dead. What does it mean to you? She never positively affected one person's life in all the years I've known her. So why all the accolades?" said Rue, tired of bereavement visits. She knew what Dorian was like in life and she got what she deserved. Cold and heartless, yes; but Rue, and a lot of other people knew what Dorian did in Orchid and more than one of her former associates agreed with Rue. They never said it publicly, but they figured she had it coming.

"Well, she was one of our crutches for morale. I don't know if you've noticed...but we're in the middle of a war here!" said Lashus in an angry tone. It was if he was speaking to an ignorant child.

"Of course I know! But how does that affect me? I left that life behind." said Rue.

"I know you, Rue.. You're been spending the last few years sitting down in this stupid, rundown apartment thinking about what things could have been. You could have been a legend. We need your help; you were brilliant in that brief time with our counter insurgency operations." said Lashus.

"I stopped caring about _you_ when you slept with Portia. I stopped caring about the _party_ when I was forced to kill an _innocent_ person during an interrogation." said Rue, almost breaking. She still had nightmares about that from time to time. She looked away, almost shaking.

"Those were necessary things. Things were crazy...it was war. We all did what we had to do. There's no guilt in that. Irrelevant of that, you still owe this party your loyalty. You should know that more than anyone." said Lashus. Rue disagreed. Doing what one had to do didn't absolve a person from wrong doing anyway. He could have sold her if he hadn't brought up he thought Rue owed. Because the last time Rue checked, the White Crow had done little to deserve that debt. Freedoms were restricted, laws and taxes were tight and nothing changed. And yet, only a handful in the government even _acted_ like they cared. Sure Rue had been out of the party for some time...but no one knew the party like one of its own.

"So what; I'm a disappointment? I can't have my own life...because of Masson?" said Rue.

"This war will only be won by the collective effort of the people. We will not allow the foreign powers to wrest control of our hard fought land. Do you really want to go back to those days of tribal warfare?" said Lashus, still doing a bad job of trying to be a salesman. But Rue had her own mind.

"Oh, cut the crap, Rory! Why don't have your own thoughts for a change; stop regurgitating everything Masson says. Do _you _believe it?" said Rue. Lashus hesitated for a moment short enough. It was enough to convince her he was serious without letting her think he had doubt. He couldn't afford to show weakness.

"Yes...I do; with no ambiguity." Lashus said.

"Look, you know why I don't care about Dorian? She never cared about anyone else but herself. She didn't do one thing for these people around here." said Rue poignantly.

"Why should I care about these people? These people are here of their own choice...like you." said Lashus.

"They're here because they don't have anywhere else to go! All they've known is poverty and violence. These people don't care about Dorian and those aces. They _don't_ care! My neighbor's daughter was raped three days ago. Do you think she cares about Dorian? Her death is not going to change society. My people don't trust anyone because no one's given them a reason to trust the authorities. The reason they no one stood up until now is _because_ they're so scared. When we were in Orchid, we spent all our time making them afraid of us when we should have given them a reason to trust us. That's why I left." said Rue.

"To be honest with you, I could care or less. I have a job to do. I don't have time to be a hero to everyone. Honestly, who does? This country is our identity and we must protect it from all those who threaten our land." said Lashus in a harsh tone.

"_We_ didn't declare war on the world...Masson did. So let him fight it. I won't fight it with him." said Rue.

"Regardless, that's what the party wants...and the population's job is to deliver." said Lashus, brandishing the gun he had on him. Rue was completely offended. Who did he think he was? He was a pawn really. Rue always knew Lashus was a pawn; he always thought he was more important that he actually was.

"Is that a threat?" she said angrily. Rue wasn't intimidated. "The problem is that people like you make your living by the power we give you. But instead of providing them with freedom, respect and trust...you, we...we gave them fear and threats. Follow us or else..."

"I must warn you. The resistance is very active. Don't be surprised if you see our presence more. I know you'll be fine. You always talk a big fight. That's what makes you different from Portia. She backs up her words." said Lashus in a sardonic, almost derogating tone. He was right about Portia. But rather than curse back at him, Rue decided on a rather clever parting shot. To mention her now meant they were still carrying on their little affair, all the while that Lashus didn't realize she was using him.

"Was the sex Portia gave you _that_ good? She's got you like a puppet on a string now." she said with a wicked, crooked smile and a glint in her eye. However, Lashus didn't even get fazed.

"Hey, you made your choice...I made mine. Look where we are." said Lashus, arrogantly pointing out the differences in their lives. But Rue was not concerned.

"And I really pity _you_. Now will you please leave? I'm afraid you've overstayed your welcome." she replied in her usual passive aggressive tone.

"Fine. Good luck with your...life." replied Lashus in a disgusted tone as he turned and left. After a few tense minutes, Lashus had been long gone and then enter, in a rather quiet gait, was Nikko, a fifteen year old kid who distributed the propaganda for a local chapter of the resistance. Contrary to opinions, the Southern Alliance was not all combative. Some were insurgents, but many were simply propaganda machines. Luckily for the more benign members, they were not the immediate target of the massive terrorist dragnet. But needless to say, it was dangerous work. For a small ten Versuan credits, one could purchase a propaganda page.

"He's gone...good. Here you go." said Nikko. Even Rue had fallen victim to this. But her stance was already taken long ago. She handed him the money. As she read it, Nikko stood there awaiting a facial expression relating to how good the message was. The pages came with drawings as well. But the words were the encouraging part.

_**Hope springs eternal. One of the vile aces was blown from the sky by the very heroes of the Allies, the ones of 373, who they sought to kill. A war criminal has been consigned to the wastes of history. This is the day and you free men and women are the ones who shall make our voices heard. Long live the Southern Alliance!**_

Rue realized sometime ago the world was lining against them. Rue also knew that many members of the people in her building were informal Resistance members. The act of _paying_ for the propaganda page made one an "unofficial" member.

"Nikko." Rue said, noticing him walking off. He stopped.

"Ma'am?" Nikko said. Rue was the closest thing Nikko had to a motherly figure as his parents had died during the wars years ago.

"I was just wondering...is...is there anything I can do to help you guys?" said Rue.

Next: Chapter 13: Anxiety


	13. Anxiety

Chapter 13: Anxiety

Chapter 13: Anxiety

"_...My heart is filled with a deep worry now. Now our country has gone from the hunter to the hunted. And yet, my heart is divided into light and dark. I want us to win this war, but the more I learn about us...the more it frightens me." - Sasha Masson_

_**Castelle van Stijl**_

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 5, 2016**_

_**1600 hrs**_

Portia Masson never really liked Sasha. She certainly didn't like her mother and thank goodness she was gone. Sasha just didn't did not have the backbone she and Xalia did. Granted, she tried. She looked up to Xalia as a role model growing up. But to be honest, Sasha's designs of following in Xalia's footsteps were a complete fraud to say the least. Sasha was too soft of a personality to hold a government position, much less a military one. She was smart, gifted, and classy (Portia begrudged her that)...but she was also far too sardonic and liberal thinking, and she was definitely was not hardened enough to understand the world around her. To be honest, their father held some of the blame. Sasha was born on January 2, 1995. It was with Sasha's mother whom her father stayed with the longest. Portia never appreciated that woman because Portia's mother had started her at an early age with the necessary Machiavellian lessons of life. Ruthless and powerful lessons of life her father continued to give her even when he married Sasha's mother. Portia grew up with the words, "No one gives you anything…you have to take everything." Sasha grew up with more comforting, sheltering words about "seizing the day" and "living every day to the fullest".

For Portia, things couldn't be worse. Her investigation into the intelligence slip had been slow. But her sister's life had been spared by this Looking Glass. Portia knew Tenenbaum well. He was a quiet, introspective figure most of the time. On a mission though, he was destructive, yet efficient. His consistent rule of 'no women, no children' apparently still held up after these years. But Portia did not want any more sudden attacks, so she kept Sasha on lock-down with maximum security at her mother's summer home in Valuria.

To even further complicate things, the allies had seized the momentum and the ambush from several days ago had failed miserably. The one thing that annoyed her was her father's seemingly over-judicious use of the Dispater Tower. If the allies attacked into Vastos, it would be at the extreme edge of its range. But Masson had given Percival and Zorba strict orders not to engage the allies with the weapon in the desert. The desert was filled with hundreds of small civilian hamlets and towns. But Crixus, the 1st Army commander, had forbid units to evacuate civilians. It had sound reasoning, there wasn't enough time. There was no telling when the enemies would attack and defensive positions were still being set up. Though in reality, Portia could care or less about the people there. Graysel raised all kinds of hell, but his power was in name only. Graysel had little or no political power in reality which indicated that despite his party status, he was never completely trusted by Masson...bizarre even for old friends like Dise and William.

Portia's father was in some phony political wrangling with President Cohen of the Osean Federation and King Cerea of the Sotoan Kingdom. If Portia could find one thing right with the Allies, it was Cohen. She was firebrand of a woman who wasn't afraid to stick it to her enemies. She was a straight shooter and was rumored to have a very short temper. The Madam President almost reminded Portia...of herself. Her thoughts were interrupted as Sasha entered the conference room apparently bored out of her mind.

"How long do I have to stay here?" she asked impatiently. Portia was angry. The last thing she needed was anything from Sasha. There was an invasion brewing on the horizon and everyone had to tread lightly. Of course, this entire thing wasn't her idea; it was her father's plan.

"Oh stop complaining. You should be thanking me. I'm trying to keep you safe and this is the thanks you show me?" Portia said.

"I feel like a prisoner in my own home rather than someone being protected. I'm not scared of these people." said Sasha. She was getting tired of this isolated life.

"If it makes you feel any better, I probably can pull your husband off the line to stay with you for a few days." said Portia, trying to be a bit compassionate.

"No, absolutely not. He'd never agree to it and I would agree with him." Sasha retorted.

"So you support the war after all?" asked Portia in a searing indictment. Portia knew Sasha was having difficulty deciding where her true feelings lied...or she was lying about where her true feelings lied.

"Well, look...you know how he is. He doesn't back down from a challenge; neither do I. We all know what's at stake. To treat him any differently than he already is...would insult him." said Sasha.

"To be honest, I never understood his mind. Why fly alone up there? It's probably the reason he's been beaten by those Osean pilots twice now." said Portia, almost laughing. "He's overrated. So he flies alone...so what? How does that help us if he can't deal with deal with the most important people on the enemy's side? Mephisto's rather sluggish, Bel's mistake prone...and your husband is not that good either. Why so confident now?" said Portia with an air of haughtiness to her voice.

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! You people were popping champagne when the war started! And now you're criticizing the same people who can win the war!" said Sasha. Portia was awestruck. _Well played_, she thought. She long realized that "celebration" had been a bit premature.

"The others didn't fare so well either. Maybe your friends are overrated too. That Daydenko woman got a state funeral and a day of mourning. Wasn't she done in by them too?" replied Sasha in a quick, stinging riposte. Portia got up out of her chair and walked over to her, getting right in her sister's face.

"Listen, you're smart. You're bright, you're...pretty." said Portia, trying to withhold her contempt, "you've got a lot going for you. But I see you going in places where I don't think you belong or can even understand. So do me a favor, just stick to what you know." Sasha got right in Portia's face, even though she was shorter than Portia by a foot.

"I'm not an idiot, Portia. I know what's going on. You think Ammon's the only one telling me things? I know much more than you think you know I know. And you know what, I'm getting the feeling we may have bitten off more than we chew with this struggle. And I'm not alone." she replied, every word slow and serious.

"That's _not_ the kind of attitude we need if we're going to win this war." said Portia.

"Attitude!? What...what the hell am I going to do to affect this war!? This war is going to be won with men with guns and people in planes and tanks and whatever. Don't be concerned with what I feel, how do _they_ or their _families_ feel? Concentrate on them; they're the ones who are going to decide this war...not us." said Sasha walking and pointing out the window at the city below.

"We don't need them...the Dispater will swat the allies from the sky and sweep from the ground. We've only seen a taste of what it can do." said Portia. But Sasha had enough of hearing about this Tower. Ammon had described it, but she wanted to see it for herself. She wanted to see if it really could win this war for Versua. Until she did she would reserve judgment...to be kind.

"Oh for the love of...stop talking about the Tower! Just stop talking about it! Please! Until it makes a decisive difference...don't say anything about it. It's like the guy bragging about a girlfriend who doesn't look as good as he says she is. So if you want me to believe...then let me see it for myself." said Sasha.

"I'm sorry, I can't. It's heavy security. I'm barely allowed in there myself. Besides, like I said...you're poking your head in places you don't belong. Don't worry about it. We will win this war and you'll look like a fool for questioning." said Portia. Sasha looked at her almost confused...and a bit angry. _Same tired-ass excuse, _she thought; however, after a pause...

"Why do I seek your counsel?" Sasha said stretching her arms out in frustration...almost admonishing herself for assuming Portia would be any different. She shook her head and left the conference room. _Thank god she's gone, _thought Portia_._ Suddenly, the phone rang as she left.

"Hello?" Portia said.

_Madam Portia, this is General Ignis._

"How did you know I was here?" asked Portia amazed. But then again, it was a dumb question. Dimitri Ignis didn't get to his position by being lazy.

_Skills. Listen, we have an update from Percival. The test went rather well. But the problem is there's some kind of malfunction with the Dispater. So we're permanently moving research to the Demogorgon facility. We don't want a repeat of the Ajax._

"Fine. What's the word the Azazeal project?" said Portia. The Azazeal project was the most secret project in all of Versua. The Dispater project was developed under much concealment...but no one, not even the Allies were aware of it or the Demogorgon.

_We're at 87 percent completion. We only have to work out the kinks and we'll be done. But we cannot let the Allies take the north before then. We're looking at three weeks tops._

"We may not have three weeks..." Portia said, having to remind Ignis of the tense situation on the border.

_The Allies are taking their time. More time for us._

"Listen. I want you to relay the special orders for Dispater to Percival."

_You mean the Abaddon Directive...a.k.a. the "just in case things go to Hell" orders?_

"I couldn't have said it better myself. And I want planes from your special squadron up at the front lines. I want you make a suggestion to Morales to have Rossi pull out Mephisto and put your guys in their place."

_I can't make any promises. It's going to be a hard sell...but it can be done._

Meanwhile, Sasha answered her own phone; it was a long awaited call from her husband. He'd relocated to some base outside of Vastos along with that famous Bel Squadron. It seemed a strange move by the powers that be, especially since Ammon and Sodel Josen hated each other by principle. Morale for the air forces had been low since Rahab Squadron was annihilated.

"Ammon...it's good to hear from you." said Sasha in a very excited tone.

_How are you, love?_

"Fine. I'm still locked up in my own house. My sister's a bitch, my father's on the hustle...but else is new?" said Sasha trying to be a bit humorous.

_Don't worry. If things go bad and we have to abandon the line, maybe I'll just go AWOL and visit you._

"Don't say that. You'll get in trouble. Though...I would appreciate a visit, even for just one night." said Sasha with a coy smile on her face.

_Xalia's worried sick about you. When she heard about the attack on your motorcade…she went ballistic._

"I'm fine. No more black headed psychopaths for me." said Sasha with a bit of a laugh.

_I just can't believe you survived that. Why didn't he..._

"He wasn't going to kill Me." said Sasha, almost a bit too confident in herself.

_I've always wondered what their problem with your father was. But I'm reading this stuff on these propaganda notes...these are some serious accusations._

"I don't believe any of it. I think about it, but I'm not...well...I mean. Let's just say I'm withholding judgment." said Sasha trying to cover her doubt, but Kaida read through it.

_You sound like a doubtful person._

"I hope we can win, but things aren't looking good." said Sasha, making note of what she knew.

_I know. There's a lot of grumbling. Personally, losing Dorian is probably only a fourth of it. Those Osean aces...their calling them "Deceivers". Word's been going around like wildfire. But I remind people that the guy that coined the term is a crazy person but..._

"So I've heard." said Sasha, rather haughtily.

_But, what I've been thinking about is...what was this war for? I mean, they said that we were going to take our revenge on the nations that exploited us for so long but...I'm getting the feeling it's __**not**__ about that anymore._

"Me too." said Sasha sadly.

_But, you and I made a commitment to this life. So if something happens to us, we shouldn't be surprised. It is the life we've chosen, even though the enemy makes us out to evil._

"Win or lose, I only hope we both live through this." said Sasha, trying to be optimistic.

_It's not me you should be worried about. It's Xalia who you should be worried about._

"Why is that?" asked Sasha.

_There's something in that squadron that lies beneath its skin; something bad. I'm sensing it now. Their chemistry is beginning to erode. It's slow...but it's there. And it's not just Mephisto. It's...everyone. I'm sensing erosion everywhere._

"Believe me...it's not just you. Portia and the powers that be seems too optimistic." said Sasha.

_But...I will not let this war reach your home...our home. If the Allies come to our house...I promise that will kill every single one of them._

"Don't make promises like that! Don't write that check...because you may have to cash it someday." said Sasha wisely.

_Ha! You have a point. Though, I think Baraka's starting to write a lot of checks himself. But...this is the way things are in my world. Listen...I've got to run. I've got a meeting with that crazy pers...I mean, Bel Squad's lead. I'll see you around. Much love._

"Love you." said Sasha, slowly hanging up the phone. She sat there for a long moment and stared. She got up and walked around, walking near the conference room. After that tense time, she saw another uniformed man rapidly enter into the room where Portia stood walking around. As he entered, he closed the door. Sasha didn't immediately follow, but she noticed the door was unguarded. With a natural curiosity...she walked to the door and put her ear to it.

_Ma'am...we have a serious problem._

_What?_

_The Looking Glass has struck again! He and his men blew up a fuel depot just outside San Ava! He left another calling card...another propaganda paper._

_Damn him! I want a full sweep of the east coast. Detain all necessary witnesses. I want that town on lock-down. No one gets in or out. Get me in contact with Captain Saito._

_I'm sorry to say this but...Saito's dead. _

_What?!_

_He was done execution style, double taps, back of the head. Silencers were used. The only survivor was a young secretary hidden inside a locker. She said a man and woman wrapped in a black head wraps put him on his knees and blew his brains out. Their regular soldiers weren't wearing black wraps. They were wearing camouflage._

_Dammit. We've got to get this under control. This is the last thing we need. From the looks of things, this group is far more organized than we expected. I want full military presence around every city. No one enters or leaves. The troops can and will anyone acting suspicious. I want you to search every house of every city and look for any propaganda papers. I want them burned. And you have permission to shoot any distributors or manufacturers on sight._

_I'm on it._

Sasha's eyes bulged and backed away from the door right away as it opened. Luckily, she'd got enough separation so that no one would think she was eavesdropping. She plopped back down in the chair she was sitting on and became sick to her stomach. It seems that things were becoming far more serious than Sasha thought. She'd entertained the thoughts, but it seemed that Ammon hit the nail on the head. And this all was going to happen in a period of _quiet_ time on the battlefield. She could only imagine what would happen if they lost the Moab Madra. The more she learned about what was really going on in her father's circle...the more she wished she never entered into that circle.

_**Royelle, Yuktobania**_

_**December 7, 2016**_

_**1800 hrs**_

Sueltana's appearance in the squadron's lives was a necessary annoyance to everyone above the people in the squadron. Like it or not, she was now a focal point of their time and morale outside the planes. She was just this barely eleven year old kid who just came out of nowhere; now, she was suddenly a part of their family. Though, Sueltana had a habit of wandering around trying to meet new people. In one particular incident, she got turned around and ended up outside and ran smack into some pretty woman named Serena. She ended up walking with her to her squadron area and she showed her around the place. They were both now sitting in Lillian's room with Ava, Jonathan, Cormorance, Paulo, Polly, Andrew and Lillian. Andrew was trying to teach Sueltana the difference between teams giving and getting points on a gambling line before Mr. Alou cut him off. That was after he taught her how to play blackjack. She looked at Lillian who handling some kind of...hairy spider.

"What's that?" she asked. She was looking at the massive spider creature that Lillian was holding in her hand. But this girl, to the amazement of the others...was not afraid of this thing.

"Oh, it's my pet White Wolf Spider. I was going to put it back out in nature, but I found this old empty aquarium outside...I've been keeping him inside this thing for the last few days." said Lillian.

"You...keep those as pets?" Sueltana said.

"Yeah. They're such misunderstood creatures. I don't know why people get freaked out." said Lillian.

"I don't know…maybe people don't want to get bitten by a thing the size of my hand!" Cormorance said.

"I'm surprised she didn't get freaked out like Ava there." David said.

"What? You got scared?" Sueltana asked a red-faced Kei who looked away. This girl looked almost offended by the very notion of one of her heroes being afraid of something insignificant like a spider.

"Oh, well...not really..." said Kei trying to cover her embarrassment.

"That thing was crawling on her chest one morning..." Jonathan added.

"Jonathan, no!" Kei said pointing at him to shut up. David laughed and continued on.

"She hopped up out of that bed screaming bloody murder. I mean she was screaming and squirming. As if this thing was going to bite her head." said David while laughing. Soon everyone was laughing.

"Okay, but everyone's scared of something." Kei added wisely.

"I'm not afraid of anything." said Sueltana, shaking her head a bit.

"Oh that's a lie if I've ever heard one. Everyone's scared of something!" Polly said, "The question is this: what are _you_ afraid of?" Sueltana paused for a long moment. She thought about home…and visibly shook.

"Umm...I'm afraid of...going back home." said Sueltana.

"...and where's your home?" asked Paulo.

"The city of steel. Cinigrad." she answered.

"Wow, that place must be a nightmare to live in now. With the civil war and all..." Cormorance added. It was no secret that Cinigrad had been hell on earth for three years. It appeared that fact was not lost on this girl. She probably still had nightmares about it.

"So I'm guessing that's why..." David continued.

"I visited that city before it fell to chaos. It was really beautiful, equaled only to Gracemeria or November City." Serena added.

"Hey, you'll always have a home with us." said Cormorance, patting her on the head.

"She's like your mascot now isn't she? Tre nina...vaseo." said Serena, turning her head a bit.

"Yeah...what she said." Andrew added. Suddenly, Lucien Jackson entered the room and took a look around.

"Hello, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Ava, Johnny Boy, can I talk to you to for a minute?" he asked. David and Kei got up and followed Jackson into a smaller room. The room was more open and right in front of the door was an open window. Just outside that window was an old payphone. No one saw it, but a man walked over to it and picked up the phone.

"I found an interesting replacement for Michael. Someone with a bit more discipline...and some I think you may be familiar with." said Jackson entering the room. The conference room was mostly bare save a phone and a few chairs.

"Who is it?" asked David sitting down.

"Someone we've been training for awhile. We've kept him in the dark for a bit, only because he was just supposed to a reserve. That what he wanted after he discovered you committed to this whole thing. His reasons were different though. However, like you, everything changed when the war started." said Jackson. Suddenly the phone rang.

"What you mean...some we know?" said Kei over the ringing phone.

"Quite well actually; hello, Mr. Preston. I trust your journey here was rather uneventful. What is your location...oh...oh I see. Yes, they're right here." said Jackson picking up the phone. He handed the phone over to David and he slowly put it to his ear.

"Who the world could this be? Hello?" David asked. The voice he heard on the other line was someone he'd talked to on a regular basis when they were in Wardog of old...and when they were just living out their lives in peace. He thought he was house sitting for them, making sure no ail came to their humble abode in St. Helena.

"Sorry I'm late. But then again...I think I was always late to the party." said the voice. David instantly recognized who it was.

"Oh my god...are you kidding me?! Yeah, she's here. Oh...that's where you are." David said.

"Who? What is it?" Kei asked confounded.

"Here...I'll give you two guesses but you'll only need one. Look out the window there." said David. Kei took the phone and put it to her ear as she turned around. Kei slowly turned...and it was completely surprised by the sight. He had longer hair than he did six years ago. He sounded like he was much more confident than six years ago. There was no mistaking it now. It was Hans Grimm in flesh. Kei then did something bizarre. She screamed like a rhapsodic schoolgirl at the mere at the appearance of Hans. It was as if she hadn't seen him in years, yet he was only at their house just three months ago.

"Aaaaah! Oh my god! Where did you come from!? You sly little...you were right when you said you were always late! I thought you said you were at our place, house sitting for us!" Kei said, an infectious joy that could not be contained. Even Jackson smiled somewhat.

"Well I was, until Mr. Jackson convinced me. I figured it had to be a bit of a lonely journey...would you say that I'm right?" Grimm...or Preston said. Kei thought about it for a moment as the excitement died down.

"But...why? I mean...this doesn't have to be your fight." Kei said. Kei noticed David was wondering what she was saying. She clicked on the speaker phone and hung up the actual phone.

"Actually it is...you know Lauren right?" said Grimm over the speaker.

"What does your fiancé have to do with this?" Kei asked. Kei's heart stopped. _If Grimm was here and he was mentioning that girl..._

Kei remembered meeting that Lauren Weiss once two years ago. She was a bright young woman from the Kansas district, though she came with a sense of odd naiveté and a slight country drawl. She was a sweet woman who never asked for too much or spent a lot of time worrying about what others thought of her. Recently, she was a specialist NCO with a medical battalion, but neither David nor Kei knew that she'd had been dispatched to the region. Kei braced herself for the terrible news. It would be like a punch in the gut if that poor woman had died.

"She was one of the medics at some place called Bava Zero One. She had been sent there just before the war started as part of the peacekeeping missions. They had a direct hit by a blast of ultra-high density electricity from that Dispater Tower. When they found her...when they found ...her legs beneath her knees were so badly burned they had to amputated." said Grimm. Kei could hear the shaking in his voice.

"Oh my god..." Kei said. She assumed that girl would have been killed with that kind of an attack. But having one's legs amputated for that reason...Kei became queasy as she tried to picture the horrible injury that had to have been; now she was angry again. Both David and Kei looked to each other in horror. To even conjure up the mental picture of Lauren needing shiny silvery prosthetics or having to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair was simply maddening.

"I couldn't tell you until now. Jackson's associates and all those...national security concerns. Personally, I don't buy it. But I figure...if you're in it for payback...why not me too?" said Grimm. His voice seemed rather determined, a rarity in him. Both of them had been used to him being the guy who was always finding out something new. That's probably why Lauren liked him.

"We've certainly changed from six years ago." David said. No truer words could be added.

"I'll be inside soon." said Grimm.

"Alright." said David, pressing the button to hang up the phone. Jackson immediately added something.

"His woman was one of the luckier ones. Some of the bodies they found from Dispater's wake were burned so badly that identifications were extremely difficult. Their control tower had a direct hit; everything was melted and the corpses were ash. I'm not making this up. Now you see why this weapon's power is being judiciously examined. This is, hands down, the most powerful super weapon anyone's ever dealt with. What we've seen so far is a taste. There's no telling how the enemy will use it when their backed into a corner...and that's pretty goddamn scary." said Jackson.

David's head fell into his palm and groaned. He suddenly and shockingly quickly removed his hand from his forehead and made an angry...sound of sorts. It was just another complication to this entire war...another tragedy; another terrible thing to make what could be a terrible war even worse.

Next: Chapter 14: The Wild West Show


	14. The Wild West Show

Note: I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. This chapter took a _lot_ of work. I had to make up a _fake_ language and actually do research on this one. As for the armored jargon, SCUD, and SAM references, I'm aware I may not be totally accurate on their usage...I'm not a military expert. By the way, I'm no longer using Fox 1, 2, and 3 designations. It's too repeditive and these chaptes are long enough. So regardless of that, I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and...whatever.

Chapter 14: The Wild West Show

_"...this war is not just about defeating the enemy. This war is one of liberation from the military government of this...Versuan White Crow Regime. This war is not against their people of Versua. They are mostly an impoverished nation whose population has long suffered under civil war, disease, hunger, and a corrupt government system that seeks to build its military power on the backs of these people. This war is about promoting freedom and justice for all. I ask the Versuan people not to be afraid of our presence, but to embrace us; those who care about others, and reject and turn your backs on a regime that has done nothing but held you back as a population."- Mary Cohen, President of the Osean Federation_

_**Prometheus One Zero, Versua-****Yuktobania Border**_

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_0800 hrs_**

Grimm remembered hearing that kind of a speech once before. Six long years ago in the skies over Dresdene, Yuktobania, the supreme commander of Osea, General Howell, delivered the same kind of spiel to the Osean troops. Of course, the result of which was an unprovoked bombing by those Belkan aces, the result of that being Wardog taking the blame for it. But this war was much more complicated as they were dealing with things that were totally beyond what he or Blaze, Edge, or likewise experienced in Yuktobania. Dispater was only half the problem.

They were dealing with a highly committed, battle hardened enemy. They could also call upon an army of irregulars known as the Opren, the counterpart to the Mujara, former tribal leaders who fought the White Crow regime. The Allies had an idea of what it was like in this country, but there really was no telling what they would find in Versua. As the Allies entered into this war, Grimm returned to war itself as a new persona. As such, he needed a new alter ego in the plane. No more could he be Archer; thus the pilot formerly known as Archer became "Cygnus". There was an interesting story about that very nickname. Six months ago, during a visit to the famous Echo Park in Oured. Lauren had pointed out to little Catherine about the Maroon Cygnet, a rare form of swan indigenous to Osea. He wasn't sure if it was Kei who brought up in conversation or he remembered it that made him go by that name...but it didn't matter. To the world, he was Cygnus now; he was Elliot Preston.

But for Grimm though, the mental picture of Lauren's legs being cauterized by that devastating weapon made him sick to his stomach...and angry as hell. Now he knew how Blaze and Edge felt out in that ocean. But perhaps Catherine was lucky; her death was quick. Lauren would have live her pain for many years. And it wasn't just Lauren who had suffered. She was lucky compared so many others. Those lucky few survivors...some of them would require skin grafts that would still deform them. Those who avoided the direct hit were doomed as superheated electromagnetic pulses of energy tore through their bodies, burning flesh like magma.

But Grimm found that he didn't need to earn his respect with these veterans of this new war. Of course, the pilots formerly known as Blaze and Edge had long held their respect, but men like Captain Alou and Scirro who were take-no-prisoners, consummate aces needed no impressing. They were bloodied that the Dispater existed all together. Lauren's horrible wounds were enough to convince them. But Grimm was new at war again. But it was clear that this war was weighing on the souls of those who fought it. They were darker, less patient, and less sympathetic by the day. They were cold, efficient pilots, despite some of their peculiarities. They were goo and well versed in their arts; they had flown more combat missions in a month than the entire Razgriz had flown in the _entire previous war_.

As for Lucien Jackson, he wasn't concerned about Hans Grimm...er...Elliot Preston. He wasn't sure when it happened, but this Sueltana Devia kid somehow became the heart and soul of Wardog. She was so influential on the morale of the group that they actually insisted on bringing her with them to yet another makeshift forward airbase. They had moved nearly a week ago, as news of the exploits of Wardog and their new found Verusan given-nicknames... "Deceivers" began to spread. But there were more problems ahead, problems that no one expected until now.

George Mason Clarke, his associate from Section Seven, had infiltrated a Versuan Resistance group and was slowly feeding whatever information he could gather to the allies. And the situation in Versua was a confusing one to say the least. There was a lot of grumbling at the leadership's core, which only bought the Allies more time. But considering the amount of ethnic group in Versua, once the war was over there was no telling that where their loyalties would lie. One had to remember that Versua was like the Wild West before Masson came along. Had Masson not been a malevolent crazy person, Verusa would actually be in decent straits. But the care now was to avoid civilian casualties. The war in Versua had the largest civilian population in combat zones per capita than any other war since. And the enemy's strategies were only making things worse.

Jackson knew that despite the mob of criminal sycophants in Masson's circle, there were enough smart people at the top to ensure that Versua didn't fall apart at the seams. But the Madam President knew better than anyone how much of a powder keg this country was now. If this invasion was not carefully waged, there could terrible consequences. President Cohen had to slightly micro-manage the war so that when the Allies won, they weren't perceived as invaders...but liberators. So Mary Cohen made a special address to all the Allied soldiers, Versuan civilians, and the Osean People the night before. Lucien Jackson entered their briefing room to address the squadron on the upcoming Operation Windsor.

"Alright people, let's settle down. As you know for the last few days, we've been preparing for an attack into Versua. We're not calling it an invasion, by orders of the President. But let's cut the bull, it's an invasion. We're going into this massive sweeping desert called the Moab Madra, the first obstacle on the way to the war's end." said Jackson, bringing up the maps on the computer screen.

"I know that in training you ran a simulation of the previous war's Operation Desert Blitz in preparation for this, but trust me...Operation Windsor is going to be an entirely different ball game." said Jackson, pointing to the wide map of the entire battlefield.

"We have approximately 475,000 troops against their 650,000 arrayed all around the desert. The Allied objectives are to liberate Vastos, these two major highways, and this city Reja Madra as well as all the villages around this area. We're expecting heavy resistance...anti-air, SAMs, tanks, the whole shebang. Not to mention this place is the stomping ground of those red planes you keep running into. They'd been flying out of Vastos for weeks now. They are dug in deep and they will not leave politely, ladies and gentleman." Jackson continued, "There's just one problem. Their army commander has done something utterly stupid and smart at the same time. Take a look at this picture and see what's wrong with it."

Lucien pulled up a digital map of the combat area. Manipulating the computer controls, he zoomed in onto a large area. The battle area was covered in red markings of different designations for enemy troop formations. Green was the color of Allied units and yellow markings were civilian. There was a high concentration of red around yellow...which was not a good thing.

"What are we looking at? What's the deal?" Andrew asked.

"Look carefully at their army divisions." Lucien said, trying to get the group to focus on the picture. It didn't take much longer to put the entire picture together.

"Oh…those bastards! They arrayed all their divisions in formations around all the civilian towns!" said Lillian, having made herself rather visible with those black mascara circles around her eyes. Grimm looked at her as if someone had punched her in the face twice. But somehow this Lillian Izzo had made it fashionable. Grimm knew he wasn't in Kansas anymore; and he thought Chopper was weird. He had nothing on this bunch of crazies. Jackson didn't mind it though. Actually, he just tolerated it because she was such a good pilot. Of course, she probably couldn't get away with it in any other squad…one filled with _normal_ people.

"So?" asked Polly.

"So, that's smart! We can't use our bombers against the mass enemy formations because of the civilian towns. Even with precision guided bombs there is a risk of mistaking something for military and then have it turn out to be civilian." said Cormorance.

"Hell, we learned that lesson in the last war." said Paulo, shaking his head.

"That is beyond low...using their civilians as human shields!" Kei shouted.

"No one was surprised. The Yukes did the same thing in the last war with our POW camps. Nevertheless, we've got to attack this enemy formation. The road to the first three major Verusan cities goes though the Moab Madra and we've got no choice but to attack head on." said Jackson.

"And that means answering a million calls for help from the ground troops. Unbelievable." said Grimm, thinking out loud. Of course, there was plenty of precedent. He remembered all too well of that nightmarish day six years ago.

"Not really. Army training was totally revamped after the last war. You won't find much of that mess this time around. The only issue is enemy planes interdicting. That's where you come in. You're going to run aerial interference for the ground troops." said Jackson.

"What else is new?" said Alou, almost expecting the answer.

"This operation has been divided into four different objectives. Your objective will be to help the ground troops in the central area. This will feature four tank units; the Osean's own Lynx and Dachshund regiments from the 1st Mechanized Infantry Division and two rather battle hardened Sotoan tank regiments, codename Isis and Anubis. Their goal will be to seize...er...liberate Vastos. In their way are a ton of tanks, artillery, mines, etc. And that's the easy part. The hard part is Vastos itself. The enemy has been rather diligent in shifting in and out forces. They do it mostly at night when our UAVs aren't as effective. Enemy strength surrounding the city is, as best as we can figure, to be a regiment sized force backed up by artillery, AA guns, SAMs, and two or three squadrons of planes. You'll probably be attacked by those same planes on the way to Vastos." said Jackson, pointing at a blown up picture of Vastos.

"What about the elephant in the room? That Dispater thing?" said Grimm.

"Well, we know the enemy isn't going to bring Dispater down on their own people. They've gotten orders not to unless Masson agrees to it. And as crazy as he is, I don't think he'll bring that wrath down on his own people." said Jackson. But Jackson minded himself not to say the words, _so soon in the war_.

"So why keep the civilians in the towns then? They could have evacuated them, and Dispater neutralizes our bombers threat." asked Kei, trying to figure out the Versuan High Command's thought process.

"No sense in questioning their motives now. This is going to be a long, violent slugfest...but it's the only way we're getting our foot in the door." said Jackson closing the data file.

"It's going be like an old western movie out there." Polly said.

"Your ordinance load-out must be able to handle any and all threats in the air and on the ground. Paulo, it'll be up to you to split up responsibilities between the squad members and the rest of you will carry the proper ordinance as needed. Don't expect this to be a short affair. We're going to be out there for hours, so get ready." said Jackson, as he finished closing the screens.

David, Grimm, and Kei looked at each other. Their looks were a mixed bag of confusion and anticipation. But it was clear that they were going into chaos. But, there was no fear on their faces...not even from Grimm who was going on his first combat mission in six years. The hatred and contempt he had for the enemy removed any fear. The only question was: could it destroy him?

_**Duga, ****Versua**_

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_0830 hrs_**

Pharon and Mephisto Squadrons just never got along. Pharon contained the same number of pilots as Mephisto, but there were no similarities between the two. Pharon was a group of showoffs and arrogant people. Mephisto had the consummate professionals. As much as Baraka found himself disliking that Osean ace and his friends...Cale Morala and his sycophants in Pharon were just intolerable. To add insult to injury, Mephisto was playing second fiddle to Pharon in this battle...an unthinkable proposition. Mephisto had been pulled off the line in favor of Pharon's group. Not to mention that Pharon had received some new planes to toy with. But these planes looked different. They looked like Typhoons, but their designations were not as such. Each one carried a large missile beneath their bays. Baraka knew the Star Bursting missiles were rather effective...but he'd never seen this type of missile before.

It was an insult to Baraka Molina who felt that High Command had lost faith in them. But Command always seemed to like playing favorites with the aces, much less everything else. While Baraka hoped this switch brought victory anyway, it was a tremendous blow to his personal pride. Alex and the others, despite the rifts forming...were of the same mind. Mephisto had an intense pride and tradition to its existence. However, Xalia was of a different mind. It had been a point of contention between the two. Xalia was the person who wanted to live one more day. Baraka would have traded that day for a chance at the Deceivers.

"That smell in the air...it smells like death. But it's not ours...that belongs to our enemy." said Morala. Morala was one of the more attractive men in the air force. Sodel Josen was better looking but Morala had convinced himself that he was the best looking man...and the best pilot...in the service. His brown hair was a wavy silk and his eyes were like slits, but the pupils behind them gave them a starry look; an attractive quality that even Xalia had to acknowledge. But Xalia was never interested in him. Xalia liked people who had the proper balance of intelligence, wisdom, narcissism, and professionalism that was so rare in the common pilot. That's the reason she fell for Kaida once, and it was the reason that she was with Baraka now.

"You sound like Sodel." said Baraka.

"Perhaps. But, in all fairness, he's not as good as you...nor are you as good as I am." said Morala. Morala was easily the most arrogant pilot in the force. In his mind, he had no equal.

"That's a lot coming from someone who has yet to fight the enemy in the same manner as us." replied Baraka tactfully. He didn't want to argue with this guy.

"If that were the case, then why were you pulled?" Cale said.

"I don't know. High Command acts as if they understand what's really going on out here." said Baraka, "It felt so arbitrary. And there was no advance warning...just leave, we're sending a new squad to replace you." said Molina.

"What I understand is that these Deceivers have been tearing our air forces to shreds. They took out poor, reliable Dorian and so many others." said Morala. Baraka looked at him as if he were a crazy person. Baraka long knew that Cale and Dorian were not the best of friends. But before he could even speak of the issue...

"Let me just point out that nickname is the stupidest nickname for a group of pilots I've ever heard." said Xalia pointing one of her fingers at Cale. Baraka ignored her comment.

"Why throw a pity party for her? You didn't even like here!" Molina retorted. Cale stood there without speaking for a few seconds, still looking annoyingly vivacious...for a man.

"Nevertheless, a prominent party member is dead and this situation requires more than your...ordinary skills, albeit well-earned and practiced. However, I've never understood why they respected you more than me; but it appears that has changed." Morala said, walking around stretching out his arms. Baraka was insulted deep down, but again he held back his disdain.

"Of course they respect him more...he was one of their finest members." said one of Morala's wingmen. Baraka's eyes bulged. He did not just say that, he thought. It was something that he hoped no one would mention. Xalia was confused.

"Those days are long gone." replied Baraka.

"Well, everyone says that." said Morala. Suddenly, one of Morala's pilots came up to him.

"Sir...the front line troops have made first contact with the enemy at the Casero Ridge!" he said. Cale was fuming...but he didn't let on that he was angry. That was not his style. Deep inside though, he was angry because someone in the ground command had screwed up royally. They were supposed to head to Vastos an hour from this time, but with the Allies attacking they had to leave as soon as possible. How in the world did all those troops get across the border without anyone at the border noticing?!

"Then it has begun...they slipped in overnight. Clever. I guess someone on the ground is going to be blamed for this. Now...let's see what these new beasts can do." said Morala, staring at his multicolored jet in the distance. He and his men began to walk away and Xalia stared at Baraka for a mere moment. She grabbed his arm and had a look of serious concern on her face.

"What was he talking about?" she asked him. Suddenly, he became angry and shook his head tearing himself away from her embrace.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's something you don't need to know." Baraka said, suddenly walking off. Xalia felt hurt now. She'd heard so many rumors about Baraka's past. She refused to believe any of them. But now, it was the first time someone had directly confronted him about it.

Xalia was angry at everyone now. She stared at the petal of a Blue Orchid flower. Sasha had sent her squadron a bouquet of White Orchid flowers, one for each member in the squad. White Orchids were a traditional, indigenous sign of good luck. But it seemed they would be wasted for today at least. Kaida was lucky. He got Blue Orchids. Blue Orchids were the sign of love. Xalia was angry at the war. She was angry at everything. It seemed the war was about to become brutal and heartless...even though she'd lived only to protect that which mattered most. But Baraka's outburst upset Xalia more than simple rudeness or distrust.

What Xalia most feared was turning into the monsters, the bad human beings, like Cale Morala and Valen Yancing were or Dorian Daydenko was. She didn't want to lose her soul in war. Those previously mentioned aces were people Xalia often felt sorry for. They were cold, sad people who rejected any peace in their lives and resigned themselves to a life of violence and terror. They cared nothing about the people they protected, only their own murderous pride. But the fact Sasha had sent Xalia a Blue Orchid still meant there was some humanity left in what could be a vicious, heartless war. Xalia desperately wanted to hold on to her humanity; she only prayed that Baraka wasn't losing his.

**_Basra, Versua_**

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_0845 hrs_**

Whatever happened all those days ago was showing up in the cities of Versua. Basra was a large city of five million people. Basra and Valuria were the heart and soul of Northern Versua. To lose those towns would have been disastrous to morale and equally bad from strategic and tactical standpoints. But the population wasn't really concerned with the effects as much as they were dreading this new martial law imposed upon them. Curfews were in place and blackouts were the norm. Army personnel were all over the place. It was keeping Rue on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Rue Daydenko remembered the chaotic early days of the war from the opposing side. She remembered that she felt she was doing it for the good of the people. Stability was maintained in the short term. But few in Orchid knew or cared about what it was doing to the civilian population. The Mujaran leaders of old, as well as their constituents, developed a deep distrust of the government. It didn't help that Orchid had lived up to its ruthless reputation with its myriad of secret prisons and internment centers. Daydenko was a new recruit near the closing years of the White Crow's stab at power. Rue was twenty two when she entered the service. Some of the things the guards did to people in those prisons...it made her have one nightmare after another. The pay was excellent, but the cost on her soul was immense.

Rue felt she had to atone for what happened back then. She didn't want to be a combatant, but she wanted to be someone who contributed rather than stand on the sidewalk. Of course, getting into the door of the resistance was one animal...keeping their trust was another matter. The initiation to the resistance was both ironic and brutal. She had to endure many of the same kind of treatment she dished out when she was in Orchid Division. Interrogation, electro-prodding, truth serum treatments, polygraphs, blindfolds...

But she got through it, and was only supposed to wait for a contact. Luckily, this all occurred in a single day. She had a tense time explaining the bumps and bruises to her husband. As she learned more about the resistance, she knew about the three types of members: Soldiers, package boys/girls, and scribes. Soldiers were the obvious type. Package boys/girls was more of an informal term. Package people were the ones who delivered things to resistance hamlets and their members. Scribes were the ones who produced propaganda. Package delivery was the easiest way Rue could earn her due. Her previous job had been working in the mail room at an office building before they went out of business. Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." said Rue.

A man entered her room and with him a small envelope under his arm. She knew who this man was. This was Soma, a brown haired, older man who lived in the city. It wasn't until recently though that she found out he was a member of the resistance. When he spoke, he spoke only in the very old tongue of Versuan. Old Versuan was so archaic that only those in the villages of the Central Highlands knew it; and the Central Highlands were the heart of the resistance. But its use was more than just trivia. It was the language of the resistance. Most soldiers didn't know what it meant. They thought it was pure gibberish. But luckily, Rue knew it well. She had to on her assignments when she was Orchid. Its language was convoluted and had a high context to its words.

_Aara, sim Nikko asu vera cah venas...vera suervei a inaeremia...Saluda._ (So, Nikko told you about us and you survived the initiation...well done.)

_Parsi. Aara vera hare ca elencea para vai?_ (I see. So you have a job for me?)

_Duso, elencus a se due. Para complene tao vera no troubas para vera familain fino._ (There's always work to be done. I understand that you don't want to endanger you or your family's lives. )

_Pai, pasen._ (Of course.)

_Una vera'sene angestance vera welle a lise pai sanctua va elencean an Basra. Pare fechevera un elencea tae aquenoan Maras._ (Since you're one of us now, you'll be given a list of safehouse we've got all over the city. I got you a job on at the docks at Lake Maras.)

_Pare no as tase. Para no thae anima._ (I'm not lifting crates...I'm not that kind of woman.)

_Vera no tasen a Diosgugo. Para hare a suveraial a viseo quara emota a venas Animus welle a caveat. Vera welle carsi on mui exelea. Vera welle se uncuala animus familio...parese vi vera perfos a elencean._ (You won't be lifting a goddamn thing. I have a manager down there who is sympathetic to our cause. I call him...tell him he's got a new delivery person. You're on the rotation, no questions asked. A time clock is punched in and out for you. And you make the "delivery" runs for our guys in the city.)

Rue smiled. More and more she found herself liking it; more and more she liked the sound of those words. Soma gave her the envelope and the smile got bigger. Rue finally felt she was doing something important.

_**Prometheus One Zero, Versua-****Yuktobania Border**_

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_0845 hrs_**

Operation Windsor had already kicked off hours ago and the first contacts with the enemy had already been made. Allied Command had deliberately kept everyone off balance as to the time of the attack in order to confuse the enemy. It was annoying, but they had to win the battle anyway. During the early morning, the river crossings were relatively uneventful until the Yuke's 5th Tank Group met stiff resistance from the Versuan 3rd Divsion at Casero Ridge. All three army groups crossed the border in a large armored column. Actually, it was more like a sheet of metal advancing towards the line. And thus began the absolute Versuan march...backward. Every Allied artillery piece had been carefully hidden and despite several raids by Verusan planes, they all relentlessly opened up at once at 8:11 A.M. Casero Ridge and the Varbo Plains were covered in dust, shrapnel and flame from thousands of artillery guns.

Of course, there were other dangers in the waiting. One legitimate threat was of course, chemical attacks. Lucien had made that fact clear almost two weeks ago.

_There is another major problem we may encounter during the invasion. Some of you may not be aware of this, but the Versuans have been notorious for using chemical weapons. I know all of you went through the NBC training before you got your wings, but the threat of a chemical attack is high. Our concern is not so much your health, but that of the ground troops. Mostly, these weapons are delivered by SCUDs or even more dangerous, guided weapons. But expect mostly SCUD attacks; cheap, though effective, and easily a quick striking method. Don't be surprised if you're asked to go SCUD hunting._

Grimm was rather...grim about all of this news. He was angrier than that though. He'd already seen the effects chemical weapons had on war once. But it appeared that these Versuans treating this kind of a deadly weapon like some kind of child's toy. Speaking of child's toy, he was greeted by this Sueltana Devia. This kid was a statistic of people who'd been adversely affected by the terrible Yuke civil war that mercifully and thankfully ended some weeks ago.

"Good luck now!" Sueltana said to each pilot as they walked out of the squadron area and onto the tarmac. If chemical weapons were going to be used, one obvious concern the pilots had was for this little girl's safety. So Polly, who was strangely the first to realize this, took it upon herself to teach this kid some basic NBC procedures. However, this kid was much smarter than she looked. She put on the standard gas mask without any assistance from anyone else! Although it was a bit oversized, it was clear, and to everyone's amazement, that she was quite knowledgeable about such terrible things. It was then clear that she'd survived several gas attacks during the Yuktobanian civil war. Lillian, who had a smaller sized head, gave her mask to this kid and took the original.

Despite the obvious innocence of her appearance, this girl was becoming more and more aware of the world around her. But then again, girl, possibly an orphaned girl, having to live such a vagabond life was forced to grow up fast. Kei felt compassion for this child because her own occasionally peripatetic childhood. To that end, Paulo was actually pulling strings with some friends in other squadrons who knew some Yukes. He was trying to figure out if Sueltana's parents were alive. But that was essentially like looking for a needle in a haystack in a maze of haystacks. But her purpose was obvious to the squadron. She was their cheerleader.

"I wish we had her six years ago." said Grimm to Kei. Chopper served to that effect back in the old days. But this kid had such an infectious joy to her. Sueltana knew that these people were gods to her as Grimm knew those young pilots at Heirlark once were when they took them Sand Island.

"How you feeling?" she asked him, breaking the string of conversation.

"I feel good. I'm ready. I'm ready to show them I can still bring the house, as they say." said Grimm...or Preston. Grimm, in order to keep up his masquerade, had to be cockier than he was before...if he even was a bit cocky at all. David had suggested it, feeling that the group had to had another cocky typecast.

"We may need more than the house this time." Kei said. The trio stopped and took one long look at each other. It was a strange pause...but it wasn't an awkward one. They'd spent so much time trying to get back in sync like they used to be in the craft...and it wasn't that off either. Looking at each other, they felt like old souls caught up in their own individual quests of revenge. But at this point, it didn't matter. It just felt good...it felt right for them to be back like this. They'd always be one pilot short, as Grimm had known long before that Snow was gone.

"To us...being other together again." Kei finally said. She put her hands on the shoulders on her husband and Grimm. Grimm, strangely, didn't feel uncomfortable by this. The touch was more than simple friendliness. It was an affection that went beyond words or friendship. Deep down, these three loved each other. It was these bonds that kept them together though all of the toxic tragedies they'd suffered, in and out of war: Lauren's sudden fiery paraplegia, Catherine, Kei's miscarriage, and the deaths of Chopper, Grimm's mother, Snow, Michael, Pops and all those people who had died when they fought, enemy or friend.

"Together again." David said, putting his arm around his wife's neck.

"Together again." Grimm finally replied after a long pause. Kei let go of her husband and moved to embrace Grimm as she did once after the events of November City six years ago. The group hug didn't catch a whole lot of attention, but it was a necessary affection for these three old souls. Though, they weren't invisible.

"You guys need a room...I swear to God." said Andrew, walking off to his plane. They ignored the jibe and Kei looked right at Grimm. They were of the same mind, and Kei hadn't neglected to tell Grimm. Kei had told David she didn't want to let hate get in the way of their lives. She could keep the hate from destroying their relationship...but the hate she still had for the enemy would not go away. She put her hand back on Grimm's shoulder.

"Take it. Don't forget to take it for her." said Kei, speaking of revenge. It was that edge that allowed Kei to keep that killer instinct she possessed. If Grimm was going to survive, she felt he had to have the same thing. Of course, David survived without it against the red aces once...but he was just a damn good pilot. Grimm needed no explanation though. He was not only going to pay back the enemy for Lauren...he was going to _earn_ it.

**_Moab Madra_**

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_1050 hrs_**

The battle had been going on all morning long. The bulk of the Allied attack had been towards the right and left flanks of the city. Now about four hundred allied tanks were closing in on Vastos. But that number was going down ever so slightly. This forsaken desert itself was harsh enough. The fighting had been rather vicious once the Versuans made contact with Lynx. For the past forty minutes, the tanks had endured relentless artillery attacks, close calls with mines, and a few enemy plane attacks. But so far, things were looking relatively good. They were making good progress, partly due to the air support above. But the Oseans had held their ground and not panicked like in the previous war. That was the major reason they were still advancing at a frenetic pace.

As for Wardog, the battle had been grueling already. The first events of the battle were rather chaotic. Anubis unit ran afoul of an artillery trap, as well as a tank ambush near the eastern ridge by the Deras Crater, a crater created the Ulysses XF04-1999 asteroids years ago. At the same time, Daschund was hit with the same thing some time afterwards. Paulo had designated assignments for the wing. Dragon, Medusa, Zealot would maintain a general presence over the area. Harpy and Spider would scout ahead and engage ground targets at will. Artemis, Cygnus and Jacks would provide counter-air support. It was a simple affair until a mess of enemy ground attack planes came their way. It got ugly at one point with Isis Unit losing five tanks, but the attack was broken up.

After a RTB to resupply ordinance and refuel, they were back once again. By now, the Allies on the flanks had made significant progress. But the central units were being pounded by enemy tanks again. In a change of tactics, Paulo ordered all the planes to be restocked with air to ground weapons. A vicious battle was followed up by several close calls with attacks near several civilian villages. Luckily, Wardog had Maverick missiles for that. By now, the desert was filled with the smoking remains of tanks, armor and downed aircraft. Despite the losses, Windsor was going swimmingly all over the battlefield.

"This is Lynx 1, we're about 60 miles from Vastos. We're encountering heavy resistance at point Three. We're heading north by Route 345."

"Enemy tanks at Point Six! It's an ambush!" said another of the Lynx units.

"Roger, fire SABOT! I repeat all units, fire SABOT!" said another of the ground troops.

"There are three to the right! I've targeted one...wait...nevermind, one of the planes took it out. Proceeding to Point Eight." said yet another tank crew.

After a third run back to the base, another set of fighters had been detected approaching the convoy of vehicles. Cormorance was determined to cut them off so someone could reach Vastos in one piece. He led his wingmen to the fight. Grimm, in behind, didn't feel uncomfortable following Alou rather than David. He was used to being the follower. He followed David and Kei in the last war. Hell, he'd followed them to this godforsaken place. But Alou was acting a bit large for his size. Then again, Alou had no idea that Elliot Preston was actually Hans Grimm, the pilot formerly known as Archer and a fourth of the Razgriz. Grimm had to remind Alou who really ruled the skies.Alou had spotted a group of what looked like Tornado GR4s in the distance. Alou had begun the merge with Andrew and Elliot in tow. The Tornados had started the fight when several long range missiles were fired their way. Alou decided to keep it close as they didn't want to be strung out just in case they needed to assist the ground troops.

"Alright, Preston, let me show you how It's done!" Alou shouted.

"No...Let me show _you_ how it's done!" said Grimm. Grimm broke off when two of the interceptor versions of the Tornados swept behind them. Grimm did a rather stylish high-G turn, something that he couldn't perfect for a long time and launched a pair of AIM-9Xs at the two bandits. Alou had to engage with one fighter that was right in front of him; so did Andrew. But Andrew had taken a look back to see what Cygnus was doing.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Alou said to himself. But Andrew actually liked what he saw. For some time, Andrew Fisch thought this Elliot Preston was a bit of a talker. He was someone who reminded him of the late Michael. But this guy could not only back up his words, but he demonstrated a lot of chutzpah, as Polly would say. Alou even changed his mind about Cygnus leaving formation when he scored the two kills and damaged another fighter in the span of about thirty to forty seconds.

"Why I'll be... I like this guy already!" said Alou.

"Keep going! Ha! That's great work buddy! Let's send these Versuan bastards back to their mothers!" said Andrew.

David and Kei were busy shooting at ground troops to see the battle, but judging from the words of encouragement from Artemis and Jacks, it was fair to say that Grimm was back to his old form. But there was more than an old form to the man formerly known as Archer. Back in the Circum Pacific war, Grimm had never relished the idea of an enemy dying in an aerial, flaming blaze of metal. It made him sick to think about it. Now though, he still didn't enjoy it…but it didn't horrify him like before. It was more than simple indifference though. It seemed to make him angry. Those planes were just more annoyances in the way of his revenge. It was then he realized that the enemy was ancillary…just insects to be stepped on. The end of the war was his goal.

David thought about that same thing as well from time to time. But it was mostly about Grimm. He had said something along those lines to David days ago. But David couldn't blame him. David tried to keep the hate out and focus on his mission. Kei and Grimm tried to keep that hate in and focus on their mission. So far…both strategies seemed to be working. But it didn't make the battle any less chaotic. There was radio pandemonium on both sides.

Meanwhile, while all this was going on, Polly and Lillian were still flying over the center of the battlefield. At this point, the enemy had long opened up anti aircraft fire over the skies. But these two crazy women didn't care. In their old squadrons, they trained for stuff all the time. They almost welcomed it. They weren't intimidated in the slightest bit. There was no threat of Dispater, and even though they had to be careful because of the proximity to civilian areas...they were primed and were ready to do some more damage.

"You know, the ordinary woman spends her life _avoiding_ dangerous situations...!" said Polly.

"But girls like us make our living getting _into_ dangerous situations, Polly!" shouted Lillian.

"This is Scion. Pluto and Miranda Tank units have reported hits by SCUDs just now. Elements of Lima and Charlie Divisions took direct hits from SCUDs. We think the launchers are near the ridge next to the canyon at vector 315. Gas alerts are already up. Switch to SCUD patrol." the AWACS said.

When Paulo heard this, he immediately imagined the horror of the ground troops having to endure chemical attacks. He had to act fast. SCUDs were launched off mobile launchers eighty five percent of the time. And since intelligence flights had not fingered any stationary launch sites, the trucks could hide underneath highway culverts to avoid air attack.

"Roger. Spider, Harpy…drag left and destroy the mobile launchers before they can get back to their base. Artemis, Jacks follow them and keep them covered." ordered Paulo.

"Roger. We're going into the pipe...315." said Polly.

It was some time of hectic flying to the target. Flak was relentless, and they'd crossed the paths of a few Allied air units. A few SAMs had already been fired in their direction.

"SA-12s! 010 nose low, about six or seven contrails coming in hard! We're almost over the target area!" shouted Lillian. Polly had seen them, but she didn't expect more than seven. But suddenly, more of them were coming in. They were probably a "telephone poles", aka SA-2 Guidelines; an archaic surface to air missile. They came straight up, forcing both to pop chaff to avoid the radar guided missiles. It was an interesting fact about the Versuans that they were mostly a ground controlled military force. Polly humorously thought the Versuans' defense budget had been wasted on the Dispater Tower…only to not be able to use it in fear of hurting innocent people.

"Harpy! Watch out for SA-9s coming in your area. They've got us all locked up!" shouted David. Polly then began to notice the serious increase in contrails.

"Whoa! It's getting a bit dicey here folks!" she shouted. It took some fancy maneuvering to get through the surface to air missiles, but they got through and were primed to take on these cowardly missile trucks.

"I've got trucks heading towards the canyon there." Polly said. She was looking through the camera of the "hot" Maverick missile she had ready to fire. She then spotted the bridge across the canyon.

"340 nose low! That bridge down there, we've got take it out!" Polly shouted.

"Roger. I'll take the front support you get the rear." Lillian replied. They were some dozen miles from the bridge at about 12,000 feet. Polly then descended to get a better look at the action. She could see the trail of vehicles heading for the first part of the bridge.

"Wait until they're on the bridge." Polly ordered. It was the simple matter of allowing the seven trucks get onto the first part of the bridge.

"I've got toll. Fire away!" said Lillian. Both of them fired their Mavericks at their respective portions of the bridge. With a near simultaneous pair of blasts, the bridge collapsed under its own weight, taking those wicked SCUD carrying trucks with them.

"Scratch one bridge...and about six or seven enemy SCUD launchers!" said Polly. Suddenly, Scion cut in again.

"We've got another report of an enemy squadron that's hammering our A-10s in the east. Fly west at 240 and provide whatever assistance you can." said the AWACS.

"It's got to be those red Su-37s from before. They just don't know when to quit!" shouted Paulo.

"Roger, we'll head on over to intercept." said David.

David was rather anxious to battle these Red planes. The problem was threefold though. First, the red planes weren't there. Second, any fight had to be a quick one since fuel and weapon loads were a concern. Third, a disagreement and a bizarre order a thousand miles away was about to affect the outcome of this battle.

**_Dispater Tower_**

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_1100 hrs_**

Zorba wasn't insulted at Makin coming back so late. It was just his timing now. Rather, it was more of her personal frustration at the arbitrary decision to keep Dispater in stasis. Percival was equally angry. Why now? That was the primary question. Makin had taken a bereavement leave of sorts, and then he was rather ill for two weeks. And just when he was getting better, he came back to a strange situation. The defensive flanks were crumbling under relentless Allied air and ground attack. The center was slowly being pushed back as well. Things were not looking good. The allies were, in places, advancing with little or no opposition.

It appeared that Crixus realized had made a strategic error in his battle plan and was trying to correct the problem, but by the time that he did...it was too late. Percival liked the original battle plan. It was a smart one in the moment, but they had the Allies figured wrong again. They ran war games for the Allies, particularly the Oseans, with their ground troops expecting heavy air support. Since it was the first war that Osea had fought in six years, and given their liberal history on warfare, the Versuans expected little change in the Osean military. That was not the case at all. They advanced far under their own power, with little air support at all. Now the defensive flanks had completely imploded and the allies were now advancing on Vastos and the rest of the desert. But, Zorba had different concerns.

"Ah, welcome back Makin. It's good to have you back here...but I wish it was under different circumstances." said Zorba upon his approach.

"What do you mean?" Makin asked, almost listless...as if he didn't care.

"Well, we can't use the Tower against the enemy arrayed in the desert for obvious reasons. Personally, I wish Masson would stop being so cowardly with this weapon! All the power in the world at our fingertips and it's being wasted in its idle state. All that work to repair those gremlins and we can't even use it! And we're getting beaten back in this battle!" Percival shouted in anger.

"It's an outrage. Isn't he the one preaching sacrifice...but yet won't risk it against those people in the north. Forget them! They are insignificant!" said Zorba.

"Funny...he had no problem killing innocent people during the last war. But suddenly he has a conscience now." Percival said slowly, almost contemplating the entire thing.

"Things change...but I'm not willing to buy his changing attitudes." replied Makin.

"Well, there's got to be something else we can blow up...wait...hold on...we're getting some kind of message." said one of the officers. One of the machines was a sort of advanced facsimile machine that transmitted special orders from High Command. This particular time, a message came over the wire that had a set of coordinates and only said one word: Abaddon The officer sitting there was confused as he read the message.

"Abaddon? What the hell?" said the officer. His face was one of extreme worry. Percival took a look at the note.

"What...they want us to fire the weapon in the desert?!" said another technician.

"Wait a minute...why now? Shouldn't we have done this hours ago!?" Zorba said. But just as she said that, Makin made a grab for the central controls. He'd received a message from Ignis about the special order as did Percival and Zorba. Percival would gladly fire the Dispater if ordered...but Makin taking control made him uneasy. As he configured the controls himself, Percival had to ask.

"Wait...what are you doing?" Percival asked Makin. Percival then suddenly noticed that he'd increased the power to 100 percent. This was bad news. Full capacity for a specific area was a terrible idea because of the possibility of fratricide. Usually, lower outputs of power were used for such a precision attack. But Makin wasn't interested in precision. He wanted the chance to put the fear into the hearts of the Allies. He was not going to drop the full wrath of that power on Vastos…but there were tons of Allied troops in the desert.

"It's what the boss wants!" Makin said. But Percival quickly wondered if he really meant Masson…or himself.

"Not maximum power Makin! What are you thinking! Stop! Slow down!" Percival yelled.

But it was too late as Makin activated the switch. For now, he could finally take out all the rage in his heart on the Allies. He was going to do more than put fear into their hearts...he was going to tear out their hearts.

**_Moab Madra_**

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_1103 hrs_**

Pharon had just made the first radar contact with the Deceivers. Morala had looking forward to facing off with these enemy aces and doing what Mephisto could not. There was nothing he'd have liked more than to show up Mephisto. He was tired of savaging the run of the mill Allied planes. He wanted to meet that challenge out there. There was just one problem. The sheer scope of the battle was immense. Pharon soon found they were being forced to cover for the floundering ground troops all over the place. They'd come on behalf of the Special Projects Division to test some new kind of weapon. They were given few details about it, but from what Cale Morala could figure…it had something to do with the Dispater as it was developed by the same people who supposedly worked on that same massive project. Suddenly, they found themselves being required to do more than simply dogfight.

Morala had toured the Dispater Tower once along with Diablos Squadron lead Valen Yancing. Morala was still disappointed that Yancing was chosen to be the squadron that defended Dispater from air attack instead of Pharon. But Yancing had to be respected though; even though his cold personality was severely disliked. But Pharon was back in the action but had been unable to fulfill their mission due to the severe battle conditions. Morala hated ground combat. It was ugly, brutal and boring. Never mind that it was necessary for ground troops to win wars; Morala only cared about what he and his men were doing. In his mind, people like Morala and his ace companions were going to win the war. Never could logic be more flawed.

But in order to win a war, things had to go right for the winning side. They had to catch some breaks. Neither side caught it when all of the sudden…Dispater came calling.

"I've got toll...wait...what the hell!? My radar's out! What..." said one of Morala's wingman in a panic. Morala panicked. He knew what the radar warping meant. The question was…why would they unleash it now of all times. Perhaps desperate times really did call for desperate measure and it wasn't like Morala cared about anyone but himself…but why now? Dispater was an equal opportunity weapon and it would destroy everything in its path.

"Damn! Get out of the center!" Morala ordered. Cale was puzzled.

"They're going to fire it now!?" one of his wingmen asked in an angry and confused tone. Cale Morala was not going to let his men be victims of this. The Allies had suffered heavily from these attacks before and now that they were all out in the open… Pharon figured this could be fun to watch.

A long way away, David saw it first. He saw the slight purplish lighting of the sky among the blue clouds. Then his radar began to act up again. _Oh no_…he thought. Everyone held the same sentiment: shock. Total shock.

"Damn! I thought they were going hold it back!" shouted Paulo, having seen the radar warping as well.

"I guess we were wrong!" Cormorance shouted. He was total disbelief as was everyone else.

"This is Scion, we've detected multiple touchdowns from rounds from Dispater. We have additional touchdowns in your area!" the AWACS said.

"Set jammers! Spread it out! They've got us zeroed!" shouted Cormorance.

Grimm wasn't looking forward to this. He'd seen videos of the attacks, but he wasn't sure how to describe it. No one did. Not even Lauren could describe it in a purely lucid state. When Grimm asked her how it felt…she responded in a breathless, pained voice.

_When it hit…no one had a chance…it was like lava melting my feet. I was lucky because I was some distance away…but…it was…it was just so quick. I couldn't even move. All I remember was purple lighting. It was…I'd never felt pain like that in my life. It was like a million needles pouring into my body…a million hot, burning needles._

The ground troops for the most part had been exposed to this kind of destructive power. It was hoped by Allied Intelligence that a countermeasure could be constructed in the time being. But unfortunately, those countermeasures did not arrive soon enough. No one was prepared for the violet death that rained down all over the battlefield.

"Dachshund Three's been hit!" said one of the soldiers below.

"I've got no response from Isis 6!" said another tank unit.

"What is going on!? They said they weren't going to use that thing!" yelled one of the Lynx units.

"Keep going!" ordered Lynx 1. There was little the ground troops could do but keep advancing. There was no sense in retreating now. Bolts of death rained all over the battlefield, destroying everything in their path. By now, the Versuans were forced to change tactics because of the rapidly advancing flanks of the enemy. But it didn't help. They were all in the open trying to do everything they could to slow down the enemy assault. But the Allies were already fighting for air superiority over Vastos. The Versuan battle plan had been based off the assumption of poor infantry tactics by Osea. They were wrong. The Allies held their ground and the Versuans were not prepared to hold back the juggernaut. Reinforcements were ordered up the line, but the dam was almost about to tear open. A strange afterthought of an action began the bursting of that proverbial dam.

"What the hell?! This is Ganymede Four, we've just spotted a few bolts near Vastos. One enemy plane just crashed right into a tower!" said one of the Sotoan planes, lost in the constant communication. Wardog was hurting bad. Polly had been damaged by a grazing of the attack, not to mention the shrapnel that hit the planes.

"What do we do?! Do we keep up the attack!?" Andrew asked confused. David almost knew what was coming next.

"Scion here. We've received orders from High Command for your squad to withdraw from the central battlefield and await further orders."

Kei was shocked. The idea of abandoning the tanks below was unthinkable. If worse came to worst, she was going to stay

"We can't just leave the tanks out here in the open!" she yelled.

"We've got no choice...our jammers aren't stopping them! Retreat at 185 and hold the bearing. We're no use to them if we're dead!" Paulo said.

"Damn it, Paulo! We're just going to leave them to die!" Kei shot back.

"Then what are you going to do about it then!? You can't stop it! We can't stop it yet! Until we can figure out a way…we can't waste time trying to punch against a brick wall!" Paulo ordered in his sharpest tongue. Kei banged the instrument panel right in front of her. Grudgingly, she and the others began to turn around. The attack did not seem to be making Wardog mutually exclusive.

"Can you make it back to the base Harpy?" asked Comrorance.

"I think I can...I hope." Polly replied.

Grimm was also worried about the troops below. As more of the terror from the skies poured in, the ground exploded with fury and fire went everywhere. But the Allies were determined to push forward.

"Don't worry about us, Wardog. We can handle ourselves. Keep moving forward!" said Dachshund commander to his men.

When Grimm heard that, he was filled with both sadness and confidence. In the past, they would have cried for help. Not this time. They were ready to fight and die if needed. It was almost as if they truly believed the words of the Madam President. But it seemed they were walking into grim death itself.

David gritted his teeth. Kei was pissed off, but Paulo was right; but they wanted to stay there just a little longer. Kei did, Grimm did, David did….everyone else did. But all three realized that they would probably suffer the same fate as Chopper did all those years ago had they stayed. It seemed bizarre that they were running. It was the first time in a long time that the man formerly known as Blaze ran from something. But, it was just like the 8492nd all those years ago. There was no use in dying now. Besides, the attacks didn't last long either.

That mysterious Dispater weapon inflicted a tremendous amount of damage on the advancing Allied forces. But they never stopped moving despite losing a ton of men and equipment. In the end it was worth it. Treya, who had been dogfighting enemy planes over Vastos alongside Ganymede, had reported to command that the enemy's GHQ had been an innocent victim of yet another bizarre occurrence. An enemy plane had been hit by a Dispater bolt dangerously close to Vastos. It crashed right into the control tower where the acting Vastos air defense force commander, General Maser, was located. It set off a series of explosions that, more importantly, also claimed the life of General Crixus, the theatre commander. Crixus had indeed made a serious mistake with the battle plan and was moving to another base to coordinate with the other officers when he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

**_Dispater Tower_**

**_December 17, 2016_**

**_1110 hrs_**

When Percival realized the allies were retreating from the center, he knew the desired effect had been completed. So now he had to get Makin to shut down the Dispater. This crazed man, suffering from sleeplessness, depression and some kind of rage issue was not the man that should have been operating the weapon.

"Shut it down!" Zorba shouted, trying to manipulate the controls. One of the technicians finally entered the override code at his terminal and the Dispater began to power down.

"Switching to emergency shutdown mode!" he shouted. Finally, after a tense few minutes...the machine turned off. Percival found himself face to face to with an equally angry Makin.

"What happened?! I ordered short controlled bursts!" Percival shouted.

"What difference does it make? He'd already gone back on what he promised not to do." said Makin, speaking of Masson's motives. But Praeten knew that it was more about his own revenge than the reality of the battlefield.

"Are you insane!? This isn't about revenge!" shouted Percival.

"Did Masson not send the order?" Makin retorted. Percival quickly turned away in disgust. There had to be some doubt in his mind about the validity of the order for him to act this way. He turned to Zorba.

"I'm going to talk to him. I want his reasoning behind this." Percival said, "I want full stasis on the weapon until further notice. I want the full story on anything that comes up before anyone does anything. And Zorba, you keep an eye on Makin until I get back. Is that clear!?" Percival demanded.

As Percival left after the nods and grunts of approval, he realized that the effect of the attack was already short lived. The Allies would regroup later and continued the advance. With the GHQ destroyed, there was absolutely no command and control on the ground. Chaotic radio calls filled the airwaves. The retreat became a rout of epic proportions.

But Percival secretly knew the reason and the source of the order while his cohorts did not. He'd been given that order by General Ignis from Lord Masson himself. The problem was…the transmitted message did not come from him. So the question was…what happened?

_**Vastos, ****Versua**_

**_December 18, 2016_**

**_2100 hrs_**

Operation Windsor was finally over. Wardog had stayed in the air for hours, fighting off relentless ground attacks from the determined enemy forces. But their resistance was in vain as the Versuan's defensive line cracked apart. The left and right defensive flanks had all but collapsed for the Versuans as the Allied armor tore through the last pockets of resistance before they turned on Vastos. The Versuans' command and control evaporated as one unit tried in vain to coordinate with other units. The enemy's attack with Dispater did little to change the outcome. A few hours after the retreat was ordered, the flanks collapsed all together and with their GHQ in ruins, the soldiers panicked and fled. When the battle was over, the entire desert looked as if it was on fire. Black smoke was _everywhere_. The Allied casualties were very high, but the result was achieved: Total victory.

David was worn down, as was everyone else. But for some strange reason, they didn't act like it. It was victory time. They Allies had claimed their first piece of enemy territory. But instead of returning to Prometheus, command wanted Wardog to stay in place at Vastos. It was not well received by the squad, as they knew they would be the first to be attacked in the almost inevitable enemy counterattack. It felt good to be inside the enemy's home. Vastos though, was by no measure of reality inside that home. That would have to come later. But Polly Elbe's sentiment about the taxing battle had come true. It was a true Wild West showcase out there.

Kei didn't like the retreat order, personally. Kei didn't like running. It was bizarre though. Kei believed in fighting another day, but she didn't want to leave those guys down there. Then again, they were dealing with a weapon no one could stop. But in this case, she was probably thinking with her heart more than her head. But they were alive. Everyone was alive. Even Grimm came back in one piece after a solid day's work. But they couldn't waste time thinking about who had died.

So David and Kei celebrated like rational people did. David began painting the black eye shadow on Kei while she painted her nails black. Lillian was rather upset at Kei stealing her fashion statement. But then Polly did it, and now it was probably going to be a squadron ritual. David actually thought it was actually kind of fun. Most men would have questioned his...masculinity because of it but, he didn't care. Of course, Kei couldn't paint her nails black and her eyes at the same time. She wanted to finish this before they went to sleep. Though Jackson had warned them to be ready for an enemy counterattack at any time…it didn't quite sink in yet.

Kei knew she was changing on the inside anyway...and changed on the exterior as accordingly. She had finished her toenails some time ago. For them, this was therapeutic. Grimm knew, and didn't question it at all. Then again, everyone in the squad had some oddity. So David liked to put makeup on his wife from time to time. Was it any more abnormal than those who had gambling obsessions, alcoholism, and collecting spiders and rats?

"Man, I've never been more worn out in my life. That was the most taxing mission I've ever had to do." said Kei, looking just worn down.

"Was it more taxing than flying down a massive underground tunnel or blowing up a falling satellite?" David asked quietly in her ear, putting the finishing touches on his wife's...makeover. He didn't want to speak out loud and expose their real identities.

"Of course, but those times were tense than tiring; I feel so old and yet I'm only a few days from thirty." said Kei, recalling a bit of her mortality.

"You're not old. You look more beautiful than six years ago. People like you get better with age." said David. Kei smiled at him in a very strange way. Then she laughed at that sentiment. She didn't care if he meant that or he just said so she could feel better. It made her happy in the moment.

"Like that helps. God, my back is killing me." said Kei, finally letting her true feelings be known.

"Well, I think I can take care of that." said David, smiling at his wife. Kei, knowing what he meant, smiled back, turned and laid down face first on the pillow, pulling her shirt up so David could massage the aching musculature of the woman formerly known as Edge.

David eyed his pupils towards his own hands as he guided his hands across the tight muscles of Kei's back. David had ignored his own exhaustion and focused all of his pain into diving out his wife's own. Her skin felt like he was touching a warm piece of silk. He stared at her for a mere moment, almost becoming lost in his emotions. Kei could feel it too. She found herself lost in her own emotions as well. She suddenly found herself dreaming of something a bit more...pleasurable. And it wasn't only returning this...sensual favor.

It hadn't been a long time since the last time, but this touching was making her feel rather..._funny_. She had experienced glimpses of it as the emotional high during this entire affair. Six years ago, it was David's presence that turned her on. Now it wasn't just that. It was the strange conflicting emotions of remembering why they fought. It wasn't just for Catherine...it was for themselves.

Now, David's hands were at her waist now. They were moving closer to her navel and Kei started to shudder. Both of them did. But this time, there was no eleven year old to spy on them. They'd won a hard-fought, brutal battle in the sky dodging AA fire, planes, and that damned Dispater. As Kei turned around and upward towards David's face, they were both thinking about the same thing. They were nose to nose, face to face and there were all smiles...until suddenly there was a major series of violent crashes. Screams came from around the base as more shakes and explosions could be heard. Both the pilots formerly known as Blaze and Edge looked shocked as they realized that their time together had been in vain. The look of anger crossed each other's faces.

"Versuan counterattack! Scramble the jets! Go!" they heard a shouting voice say.

David jumped up and Kei rapidly did the same. She grabbed her flight jacket angrier than hornets at a child throwing rocks at its nest. It seemed the enemy wouldn't even allow the couple ten minutes of much-needed time together. Now it was personal. But irrelevant of that, it was then that everyone on the Allied side realized that the war was not going to be as easy as it looked...

Next: Chapter 15: The Home of the Enemy


	15. The Home of the Enemy

Chapter 15: The Home of the Enemy

"_I dare do all that may become a man; who dares more is none." - Macbeth_

**_South Basra Penitentiary, Basra Outskirts_**

**_Basra_****_, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1600 hrs_**

Kei Nagase awoke to find herself inside a prison cell. She hadn't expected this reality to be any other way though. Her situation was a bit unusual. She was strapped to some kind of encompassing silvery metal apparatus. Her legs weren't spread apart enough to be uncomfortable. In fact, the entire device didn't seem all that uncomfortable. But the fact she was manacled to this machine was no cause for celebration, of course. She bobbed her head down and let out an angry, frustrated sigh. She cursed herself for what occurred up there in the sky. She couldn't determine if that was a mere mistake or a situation of pure chance. Whatever the reason was...it didn't change the fact she'd been captured by the enemy. She was once in this situation before six years ago...sort of. The first time she'd been an idiot with her obsession with Captain Bartlett's safety to allow her to be hit with a SAM. She was lucky and skilled to get away in Gublina, Yuktobania not because of her skills...but because she mostly caught a lot of breaks and got lucky. Her "valiant escape" was actually overplayed in Kei's opinion. But now her luck had run out altogether.

It wasn't her fault. She did what she was supposed to do. Wardog was not expecting to run into such a buzzsaw over Duga. Because of her, Lillian was probably alive now. Lillian was the true recipient of bad luck with that collision with the Red Terminator, the ejection problem, and the terrible, bruising and bloody landing she had. Not to mention Kei having to help her handle those horribly aggressive wild dogs...

Kei kept her hidden in an old underground pipe; her GPS and transponder signal were still working. So there was a good chance she was back at the base. Kei wasn't that concerned though. Kei knew that she was in or around Basra, the next major objective of the Allied Campaign after Duga and Vastos. She knew from Jackson that Basra had a high anti-White Crow sentiment. She knew the Versuans had a reputation for treating prisoners cruelly. She knew that the Versuan males for the most part, treated their women rather poorly. Needless to say, this did would not end well. Kei was expecting the worst from the depraved sycophants that littered the Verusan High Command and the court of their leader.

So, Kei knew she had to tough this one out. But she'd been through worse. At least the Allies were winning. She tried to get the thoughts of the past out of the head. She knew David was alive...and that was enough for her. But he had to have worried sick about her. He had to be angry as hell about her. They all had to be. But as she thought about David, she felt she was being a bit selfish. Understandable considering the chaos that occurred over the skies of Duga. She couldn't shake the memory.

_Paulo..._

She shook her head. She had to stay focused, stay strong and remember why she was here. It wasn't just because she saved a life; it was because the enemy took a life that was no ordinary life. Paulo was one tragedy; Catherine was a completely different animal. Catherine was Kei Nagase by blood. But the bond was more than hereditary, it was emotional. It was pure, perfect love absent of any pain it caused her to bring her into the world. And it was the Versuans' deadly toy called Dispater that took that love away and that produced the only emotion she could feel other than the love for David..._hate._

As she had that thought, a group of three men walked in. Two were uniformed men; the other was a man in a crisp business suit and a top hat of sorts. Kei's expression suddenly became rather stoic as the men formed a semi circle around her. Kei now that the enemy knew she was of some importance if a man in a business suit was showing up to meet her. The suit was black and it had the ubiquitous White Crow symbol on it. He looked rather attractive for a man, but Kei knew there was a sinister feel to him. His suit, his eerily attractive jubilance, his arrogant posture...

She just _knew_ that this acquaintance would not end well.

"Here is the prisoner, Inspector Lashus." said one of the officers.

"So, what's the situation?" said this...Lashus while taking off his hat.

"We caught her outside Duga. She didn't put up much resistance though. My guess is that she was protecting the other pilot that we couldn't find."

"What about the results of the battle? What happened out there?" asked Lashus.

"As I said, the other female pilot that was shot down was not present at the time. My guess is she was either picked up by the Allies or elements of the resistance...maybe hiding in a town near here. We've have our men searching every town around the area...but no luck. This raccoon faced woman had an empty gun surrounded by dead wild dogs. She must have fended them off for her colleague." said the officer.

"And our men?" continued Lashus.

"One KIA for Mephisto, Three KIA for Bel, Three KIA for Pharon. Commander Kaida limped to Valuria where he couldn't fly any longer and had to ditch. Masson's youngest daughter insisted that he stay at her Castelle until his injuries healed. Our records indicated seven confirmed kills for our side. One KIA for those Osean aces. The others bailed out including yours truly." said the officer speaking of Kei.

"And the missing man from Molina's group?" asked Lashus.

"Mephisto Five is as of now still MIA. He was in the same area as the other Allied pilots who were picked up some hours ago though. It's not unreasonable to think he's become a prisoner." said the second officer.

"Alright...I'll begin the interrogation in a few minutes. Just be ready to report to command when I'm done." said Lashus.

"Yes, sir." said the other officer, saluting the man in the suit. That seemed strange...a military man saluting a civilian. But Kei had little idea of the true nature of the White Crow government. It was a confusing bit of bureaucracy. The White Crow's inner circle was the real commanders of the country. Their orders, taken from Masson's Inner Circle could supersede _any_ legitimate military order. Perhaps that was what many believed was the reason of the Dispater incident, a bureaucratic screw up. But the incident had caused a crap-storm of controversy even though few, if any civilians had been injured or killed in the incident three days past.

Kei stared at the man that was in front of her. She tried to struggle with the apparatus she suddenly found herself manacled to; she shook her head in frustration one it appeared that nothing was happing. The man began to smile wickedly at her; however, Kei was not intimidated yet. But then, this Lashus person walked over to her and did something rather unusual. He began to rub the palm of his hand across her face and actually brushed the strands of her hair. This touch was making Kei's skin crawl. Through the large metallic claps on her hands, her fingers were visible and Lashus could clearly see the wedding band on her left hand. Kei suddenly went into a mode of pissed off that she'd never been before in her life. The last thing she wanted was this creep touching her. She wanted to bite that bastard's hand...but couldn't quite reach it because of the device she was in.

"I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable." said Lashus with a smile.

"If only you knew how much so..." Kei said, shaking with anger. Lashus stared right at her wedding band.

"I guess I'm making your significant other a bit jealous. Now, let's see who you are..." began Lashus, pulling out Kei's dog tag.

"I sense the rage in you. I like that...but you have no idea what I'm capable of. You are going to wish you were dead when I'm done with you." Lashus concluded.

**_Barapolis, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1600 hrs_**

Lillian Izzo felt a mix of anger, sadness, pain and silence inside her subconscious. It was if she was trapped in a dark padded room in an insane asylum. But she couldn't scream. She couldn't let the emotion out as she tried in vain to let everything out into the open. She suddenly felt her eyelids, and then she could feel her body. But she was still immobile; her hearing slowly came back as she heard a mixture of warped sounding voices.

_Is she awake?_

_It appears so. Who is she? Why did we risk our town's safety in keeping here?_

_The boss says she's of the Oseans...we found her just outside Duga. We got to her before the Army did. She's rather young for a pilot. She's kind of pretty too._

_Maybe I should tell your wife what you think of her, Jacoby. _

_Oh, shut up; like you didn't retain the thoughts in your mind._

_You men are all the same._

_You women kill me with that line. What, am I not supposed to think a woman can be attractive?_

_This woman doesn't look like a pilot...she looks like a gothic nightclub partygoer from North Point._

_Charming expression Soren, but...she is one lucky woman. I can only imagine what their going to do the one they caught._

_The soldiers have left the town, right?_

_They're all gone now. The coast is clear._

_Just as well...our sleeping beauty's waking up._

Lillian awoke underneath a rather old, but sturdy bed covered with a dark blue sheet. She was partially unclothed as her flight suit was no longer on her person. Her vision was very blurry and she was rather disoriented as if she came out of one of Polly's drunken stupors. Judging from the voices she heard there were two men and one woman in the room. From what Lillian could see, the trio was wearing what appeared to be camouflage-colored dusters and each had dirty, old clothes on. Lillian wasn't sure if she'd been captured or rescued.

"Where...where am I?" Lillian said almost breathlessly. The woman came closer to her as did a dark skinned man. Their voices were still somewhat warped.

"Relax. You're among friends. Welcome to the sanctum of the Southern Alliance...Barapolis Chapter." said the dark skinned man. Lillian arched an eyebrow.

"Wha...? Wha...oh...you guys are the resistance." said Lillian in a slurred tone. Lillian had figured that. She'd actually seen some of the Versuan soldiers and they looked nothing like this.

"She learns fast. She has a certain flavor about her. Something odd." said the light skinned woman. Suddenly, a series of measured footsteps could be heard. The fact that the trio jumped to attention indicated that they knew exactly who it was. The door of the modest bedroom they were in suddenly opened and a single man came in. He was wearing something similar to the others, but he wore some kind of black hood, balaclava or head wrap...Lillian couldn't tell. He was a tall guy with large bag in his right hand.

"Oh, boss. We've been waiting for you." said the dark skinned man. The black hooded man set the bag down and pointed a finger towards Lillian.

"So this is the one?" he asked. His voice seemed rather sophisticated, but he had a quick tone to his words.

"Yeah, this is the one those solders were looking for. The dyke woman." said the tan skinned man.

Lillian's eyes bulged. Suddenly, as if a proverbial record scratch could be heard, everything came to a screeching halt. Everyone stared at the tan skinned man. _What the hell did he mean,_ _dyke woman_?

"The _what_ woman...?" asked the black hooded man in a state of total confusion. The light skinned man was probably the one, Lillian figured, who made the crack about her...oddities.

"Uh...I mean...the _dead_ woman." he replied, trying to save face. He was referring to the comment he made earlier about the Versuan soldiers probably thinking that she was dead.

"That was quite the Freudian slip...so you think they came for the dyke woman?" said the black hooded man in a sort of a mocking, joking tone while walking towards Lillian.

"What makes you think I'm..." said Lillian, angrily but in a slurred tone as her vision became blurry. She had not shaken the nauseous feeling she had earlier.

"I don't know. The rainbow pendant, the black mascara, the spider tattoos..." the light skinned man began before the boss of the group cut him off.

"Soren...shut up." said the black hooded man.

"Shutting up, sir." replied the embarrassed Soren with his head to the floor._ God, that was stupid_, he thought.

"Who...who are you people?" asked Lillian. Her vision had finally gotten back to 20/20 and she wasn't feeling as loopy and out of it. The black hooded man looked on the dresser near her person. He picked up the few belongings that had been taken off her when they...rescued her. He went straight for her dog tag and stared at it.

"Izz...Izzo. Lillian Izzo. You are the Deceiver, no?" said the black hooded man reading the contents of the dogtag. Lillian froze. Was this guy serious? How did they know? But she didn't quite trust these people yet, so she held her tongue. But this only made the black hooded man laugh.

"There's no need to hold back now. Believe me, the last thing we want is your enemies here; for your enemies are our own. I can tell what you are. Judging from the amount of effort the enemy put into searching for you...you must be of some importance." said the black hooded man.

"Who are you?" repeated Lillian in a firmer voice. The black hooded man sat down in one of the chairs inside the room.

"I have had many names over the years. But right now, I prefer to be called the Looking Glass." said the black hooded man.

"Looking Glass? Well, I guess we've all got to have our nicknames. Why am I so...I feel drunk right now." said Lillian, having shaken the initial effects but still felt a bit queasy.

"You were bitten by a rabid wild dog. Those kinds of dogs in the desert eat a lot of waste and poisonous plants. That's why you were out." said the tall dark man. He then pulled out the White Orchid that was found on Lillian's person.

"I find it interesting that you were carrying a White Orchid. It's a beautiful flower; it represents what little beauty this country has. But, like this country, it has a duality like no other. In its purest form, it can treat wounds faster than antibiotics can. It also counteracted your sickness. In its most dangerous form though, it can be synthesized as neurotoxin that can kill within half an hour based upon the weight of the subject." said this Looking Glass. Lillian was a bit taken aback by this news. This Looking Glass was a rather eloquent individual…then again he could have been a crazy person.

"Thanks...but I didn't need to know that. But, thanks for saving me." Lillian said.

"Don't worry. We'll return you to your friends soon enough. But security is extremely tight, and there is the matter of saving that friend of yours I have to attend to." said the Looking Glass suddenly getting out of his chair. "Soren, you're with me. Jacoby, Gracie, make sure no ail comes of this woman."

As the other two nodded to the Looking Glass, he left with Soren picking up what looked like an SKS machine rifle, put it in a case and walked out of the door. Lillian laid back down on the pillow for a long minute, trying to remember what all happened. It was all going so well. Then it all went to hell...

**_Castelle van Stijl_**

**_Valuria, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1600 hrs_**

They called Valuria, the _Ivory__ City_. Its cobblestone streets, ancient heritage, and the white rock homes and buildings of the city made its nickname particularly apt. There was no comparison to it other than Gracemeria or Directus in its beauty. Despite its looks, beneath it once lied the nasty, seedy truth of the underbelly of Versua. But the war had not touched this land...yet. It was this city that Sasha met and married Ammon, and it was in this city she found herself under heavy security.

Sasha liked Commander Dyches though. Dyches was the acting head of Sasha's security detail while her sister left on business with father. Unlike Portia, Dyches had actually reduced the security around the house so she wouldn't feel like a prisoner in her own home. Sasha's mother, Viera Stijlan, had left her this rather beautiful home when she passed away. Not to mention that Dyches was technically family. Dyches was an illegitimate son of Sasha's uncle, Prime Minister Graysel. Dyches wasn't much older than Sasha's husband. He had the look and the skill of a fine, upcoming officer. Not to mention that he had a certain class to him that so few government officials possessed.

Sasha's mother was the _Castellana_, or caretaker, of the massive Medieval style home, just as her father and mother before her and their parents before them. The Castelle was once a haven from the chaotic world Sasha had not seen until recently; no longer was that the case. The mood of High Command was in doubt. There was no mistaking it now. Versua was in trouble. Losing Vastos was bad enough, but the entire northern lands were now in danger. In the span of three days, the war had gone from winnable to a brutal slugfest. Crixus' strategic error had opened the door for a full fledged invasion. But news was flooding in at a chaotic pace. Duga had fallen, and now the city of Basra was in danger of being lost. So went Basra...so went Valuria as well. High Command was preparing for a pitched showdown with the Allies in the Anapola Valley, the last natural defensive advantage the Versuans had before Valuria.

To make matters worse, the Southern Alliance was going on the offensive in the outlands. The entire incident with the 'Dispater fratricidal incident' three days prior was kept under tight wraps. Now, things had gotten even worse in the manner of about three days. Though for once, Sasha finally caught a break when Ammon, while returning to base, limped his wounded fighter home but was forced to ditch it when he lost all hydraulic pressure. He had planned the bail out well, except that he landed right into the greenhouse glass ceiling and found himself laying on his back in Sasha's room with bandages all over him. She was talking to Commander Dyches as he was giving her the rundown of the current…problem.

"I've informed Command about the situation. They've approved his stay here. Just as well...since Valuria is the Allies main target. But if Basra falls, we will have to evacuate the city." he said with a eloquent, almost North Point-sounding accent.

"I understand Commander. Thank you." Sasha replied. Dyches loved Sasha simply because she was one of the few inside Masson's circle, other his birth father or General Rossi or his son Gintoli, who was not a pain in rear to deal with.

"I'll leave you two alone." said Dyches. Dyches turned and left the rather cozy ski-lodge like room. Sasha turned to her husband who was laid out on the bed covered in bandages.

"Are you alright?" Sasha finally asked him.

"Yeah...but goddamn, that hurt." said Kaida, nursing the bloody bandages. He'd screwed up his foot and had cuts everywhere. He'd be off his feet for a few days at most.

"I know; you were bleeding all over my mother's precious plants! But that was one hell of an entrance!" Sasha said, laughing. She felt rather jovial now that she knew that he was alive. She could touch him and she _knew_ that things were going to be alright...for now.

"I guess I turned White Orchids into red ones." said Ammon. Sasha laughed for a moment, but then turned her attention to somewhere more poignant...and necessary.

"Regardless...what happened out there? I know the battle went poorly but I want to know everything. I really hope Xalia's okay." Sasha said, wondering about the fate of her sister. But Ammon knew what happened and Xalia was the least of his concerns.

"She's fine...but she and Baraka lost two people. We all lost some people. The allies did. Bel did...Pharon did...Mephisto did...the Deceivers did. It was a mess." said Kaida, keeping his voice somewhat subdued almost as if he was ashamed of it all. Sasha stared at him for a mere moment.

"Start at the beginning. I want to know the whole story." Sasha asked with a serious voice.

"Fine...It should have been such an easy mission. I was going to go out and do my duty. Things were going great until...we got to the battlefield. Then, my luck ran the hell out..." began Kaida.

**_Four hours earlier..._**

**_Vastos, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1200 hrs_**

The Allies were making very good progress. The Sotoans had captured the coastal cities San Coarazo and Melle and the Yukes in the west, or the east depending upon which side was being asked, were pushing to the coast. Several lead divisions pushing south had captured the city of Duga with little resistance. The only problem was that city was supposed to be the first in a murderer's row of defenses before the overall Allied objective of Valuria. The enemy had pulled out of Duga the day before, now it was under constant attack. Vastos had endured several counterattacks from Duga, but they had been beaten off. The Verusans had now concentrated their forces the Anapola Valley, some 90 miles from Basra. The lines were dangerously close in the air. Clashes between Versuan and Allied air forces were about to be commonplace. The Anapola Valley offered a distinct terrain advantage in certain areas, but a disadvantage in others. Its unique high-low and low-bowl type of terrain would cause the battle to be a coin flip, from the perspective of a non-biased military expert. Then there was Basra itself and that would be no picnic. Thus again, it was time for one of Lucien Jackson's all too interesting briefings, which was being kind…as no one liked sitting though his briefings.

Things had been hellacious around the base lately. They'd been fighting off several counterattacks with everything being thrown at them: artillery, MLRS units, bombers, and fighters, of course.

"The Allied Command has finalized the details of Operation Constantine. Operation Constantine will be the campaign for the major city of Valuria...the Ivory City. If we take Valuria, everything else falls into place. The enemy will be dealt a massive blow to their morale. That city is more crucial than any city outside of Ciudad. That's the easy part." said Jackson, pulling up yet another screen.

"The hard part is that the road to Valuria goes through Basra and Anapola. It's a lot of open ground in places and a lot of valleys. The bad news is we should expect constant attacks from Dispater. There's only a few towns here, the largest being Barapolis. Our objectives right now are the clear the Anapola Valley of all resistance and do it in a timely fashion. If we can take Anapola, Basra is ours. The main line of resistance is this facility." Jackson continued, as a picture of a massive base showed up on the screen.

"Wow, that's one big place." said David. David then shook his head. That was a rare base comment from him. Lucien was displaying a picture of a massive, imposing military facility based in and around a mountain or ridge.

"This is Anapola Fortress. It's built into a small mountain. They can hit anything on the ground with impunity. But to take this place out, we need to first establish air superiority over the region in preparation for Operation Antares, the liberation of Basra. But, before that…we've got business in Duga." said Jackson. Jackson brought up a map of the city of Duga.

"Enemy air squadrons have been pounding the Duga occupation forces for nearly two days now. We've learned that the attacks are being done by their best squadrons in hopes of luring you people out. Let's oblige them. The city's outside defense line has been attacked once per every two hours for the last two days; day and night. Casualties are mounting and we've got to hold this town. Your mission is simple: fly past the city into the edge of the Vartione Plains and engage the enemy before they bomb our lines again. We're expecting a huge air party."

"They're bringing the house this time? What about the Dispater?" Cormorance asked.

"We thought the enemy would be more judicious with the Dispater's use considering they called it a 'defense weapon'; some defensive weapon, all right," Jackson said with an air of sarcasm, "But we all know that is not the case anymore. However, from what we can figure, something went seriously wrong in their chain of command. It had agenda written all over it. But considering the area we're dealing with...they may use it significantly. I'd say a fifty/fifty chance of it. The enemy will attack in waves. It's not exactly good strategy though, but anything we can do to affect their overall striking power now is less we have to deal with later. You'll have the full support of the Mercury, Vega, and Voshkod squadrons. Let's get it done." said Jackson in conclusion.

There was nothing but stoic looks as they all walked off into the ready area. Morale was medium to high. That was only because of the exhaustion factor. People like Cormorance and Paulo were ready to fight. People like Polly and Andrew were just tired of this constant fighting and wanted more than anything to just relax. Grimm was more in Captain Alou's camp. While David and Kei had made their decisions in reverse. However, there was always an opportunity to bring up something a little more entertaining…

"Five days." Grimm said walking alongside Kei.

"Five days till what?" Cormorance asked.

"Until K...I mean Ava turns thirty." David said, almost giving it away. He shook his head. One would think that it would be easier to refer to their aliases now...but that wasn't the case. David was still resenting the idea of having two different faces...he had none himself. Cormorance stared at him because of the slip, but let it go as a tongue-tied moment.

"Oh, then you'll be one of the old people." Polly said, joking.

"Stop reminding me! I know when my birthday is!" said Kei, rather upset. Paulo approached her.

"Don't be resentful, Ava. Like my mother once said, don't be bitter about getting older. So few of us have the opportunity to do it." said Paulo, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Kei Nagase took those words to heart. As they all walked out together, she touched and grazed her own hand against David's hand and put her head against the side of his arm as they walked together to the tarmac. A gentle pair of smiles was exchanged and they both walked out hand in hand. No one judged them. But there was a lingering thought in the back of David's mind. Could he die? Could he be captured? Could Kei? Could anyone else suffer that fate? Michael was already one who suffered death...now the others were at risk. Now that they were inside the home of the enemy, the closer they came to victory...the more desperate and ruthless the enemy would get. Things weren't already looking good. Sueltana was ill, sleeping in Lillian's bed. She wasn't there to wish them good luck. David couldn't explain it though...but it seemed this had bad news written all over it.

**_Anapola Fortress_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1200 hrs_**

Anapola Fortress was one of the oldest forts in the area. It had served as a stronghold from Mujara warlords in the old civil war. It was their last stand when Masson's forces came. Its destruction was a bloody, bitter affair. But its rebuilding was a source of great national pride for the Versuan military...though it was mostly for the High Command. Now it served as a frontline base for the Versuans. If Anapola fell, Basra would practically be undefended. Though in reality, Basra could be written off. Valuria was the true prize. Valuria had to be defended at all costs; if it fell to the Allies…

Everyone at the base knew the responsibility and the sheer weight of the mission on their shoulders. No one knew that fact better than Sodel Josen, Bel Squadron's leader, who was addressing his men in usual pre-mission sermon. They were all around the hangars and Bel was talking to his soldiers while Xalia Masson looked on. She was merely passing by when she heard this crazy religious nut Commander Josen deliver his "sermon". Baraka had walked by her, and then turned to join her as she listened.

"Ladies and gentleman...we have problems. The problem is those aces still live among our enemies. Each day they live is another failure for us. We can't fail a mission from God! He gave us the mission to kill our enemies. We have yet to avenge our fallen comrades from the disaster weeks ago. We cannot allow that to happen anymore. This is the day that we shall deliver the wrath of God upon our enemies." said Sodel. Xalia, who was standing nearby, had enough of listening to this ridiculous spiel. She suddenly walked over to the Commander, not a wise move anyway since he outranked her. But she was just sick and tired of this crazy person.

"Oh for the love of...Commander Sodel, would you please give the God talk a rest? It's fine to have faith, but there's no need to bring it everywhere and in every talk. You don't even believe in God, you just use it for your own arrogant, selfish reasons…" Xalia said, completely interrupting him. Baraka pulled her away.

"Xalia, just let the man preach already! What the hell is your problem? Don't criticize the good and skillful. He's getting the job done." said Baraka, talking to Xalia as if she were a small child.

"Baraka...look, I know that. But where does it say I can't tell somewhat what I think? What, because he's a better pilot than I am means that I can never criticize him?" Xalia said rather forcefully.

"I _do_ agree with you, but don't do it again. It's bad for morale and it doesn't do anyone any good." said Baraka.

Xalia shook her head. Xalia hated dealing with these people. She longed to talk to Adon Mora or Luna Squadron's lead. They were reasonable, intelligent people who didn't spew religious stuff just for their own personal gain.

"Well, we can't all get what we want." said Kaida a bit snidely as he passed right by her. Xalia scoffed and walked on to her plane. Some of Mephisto's pilots were sitting around and talking. Two of them were Iga Orace and Eldrich Morton.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." said Iga Orace.

"What is with you this week? You've had a bad feeling about everything...even breakfast this morning." said Eldrich Morton, one of the Mephisto pilots.

"Well, I'll tell your girlfriend about it all when we don't come back with you." said Iga. Eldrich laughed. Everyone looked for some kind of release, some kind of escape from the terrors of war. But no one realized that Iga Orace had every reason to have a bad feeling about the battle...

**_Varitone Plains_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1250 hrs_**

The name of this place was a lie. The Varitone Plains was just another small part of desert. It was only less arid...but it was still hot as Hell. David felt terrible for being forced to withdraw. Kei felt terrible because he felt that way. It wasn't his fault. David had to endure serial misfortunes to stay alive in that battle. It was by some miracle that Kei had landed here. Lillian was here as well, but again she was in serious trouble. She was being attacked by crazed desert dogs! She'd run out of bullets and was now fighting for her life. Kei ran over as quickly as she could. She wasn't thinking about David or her dead daughter, or even her own life. She was thinking about this oddball Lillian Izzo.

"Get this thing off of me!" she shouted, trying to kick the dog off her. However, her voice sounded a bit slurred. Kei struggled with it, but managed to kick it off and shoot it in the head. It was a good thing that Kei wasn't an animal lover. As the blood ran, she picked up Lillian who had numerous bruises and bad, bleeding cuts on her.

"Are you okay?! Say something!" Kei asked, picking her up off the sandy ground. Lillian seemed almost listless.

"...Something." Lillian said, almost quieted and subdued. Kei almost cracked a smile...if they weren't in serious trouble. Kei wasn't sure what was going on with her. She seemed rather ill for some reason. She'd heard things about animals making people sick after biting them. It wouldn't surprise her if some mangy, vicious, undomesticated dog's germs may have made her sick in the process of that attack; especially since they tended to be scavengers. For a few precious minutes, Kei tried to drag the ailing woman with her looking for any safe place to hide her. Her radio had been screwed up due to that attack as it clawed at her, tearing it away from her person. She tried Lillian's radio, but there was nothing but static. No one had told Kei there was some magnetic interference here. There was intense wind all around her. She didn't know it at the time, but a massive sandstorm was on the way.

Kei knew the enemy was coming. They were deep in enemy territory and knowing what she knew about the Verusans...things were not going to a picnic in the enemy's hands. This hellish place was extremely hot. Gublina was bad, but it wasn't hell...it was way too cold. They were very close to the Equator, and temperatures did not let up much here.

Suddenly, Kei looked behind her and saw dust in the distance. She looked through the binoculars she carried and saw trucks...and they weren't Allied trucks. This was not good.

"Damn it! Come on!" Kei shouted.

"What are...you doing?!" asked the protesting Lillian. Kei didn't hesitate in her response. Lillian was becoming less lucid. Something was wrong with her.

"I'm here to make sure you get away!" said Kei unselfishly.

"But..." Lillian stammered out.

Kei almost began to run with Lillian, and then found a godsend. It was an old concrete structure...with a culvert beneath it. The area was covered in a berm, a mountain of sand.

"Go, get down in the culvert!" shouted Kei. But Lillian was struggling to walk so Kei had to help her down into the berm and shoved her into the pipe. And with that action, Kei quickly ran off into the distance. Lillian didn't see her drop the gun and surrender. Lillian didn't see the truck or the soldiers at first. But she was almost out of it. She could barely walk and she was still oozing blood. She tried to tighten up the bandage but to no avail. But something felt strange. She heard stories about people being bitten by animals after eating poisonous foliage and being sickened themselves. Perhaps that was why she felt this way.

Soon, Kei was loaded up inside the truck, manacled by some form of cable and driven off into the distance. Lillian struggled out of the whole, up to the top of the incline, and put her head above the sandy berm as the truck drove away. She was still much disoriented. Her shoulder and the other cuts on her body were still bleeding and the pain was almost unbearable. She knew her GPS was on, so the others would be able to find her. She crawled down to the open culvert beneath the sandy berm. This must have been a very old street for such a drainage system so far out in the sticks, Lillian deduced. As she tried to crawl inside, she began to feel very woozy. Perhaps she was bleeding worse than she thought. She had a sick feeling that she would die out here. It seemed such a terrible place to die; this desert was like hell on the surface of the world. Suddenly, she heard voices. She couldn't quite make out the voices but she knew that someone was passing close by. She soon began to drift off into unconsciousness. It felt like hours before this occurred.

_I saw two of them. They were heading into this area._

_Did the soldiers pick them up?_

_They got one...but the other is still missing._

_That pilot won't survive out for much long. Not in these conditions. _

_Wait...I see something. There's someone in that pipe!_

_Well, I'll be...this isn't one of the VAF. She's one of the Allies alright!_

_She looks beat the hell up. We got to get her patched up, she's bleeding all over the place._

_We've got to get her back into town. There's a shamal storm on the way! We're going to be buried in sand if we don't hurry!_

_Gracie, quick! Get the antiseptics and the bandages out of the truck. Mateo, get the board and the clasps. Dause, go tell the boss we have the pilot. Soren, prepare the hideout at Barapolis. I'll get all this cleaned up. We've got to make sure she's well hidden. The boss thinks she's of some importance._

**_Vastos, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1310 hrs_**

Everything had gone to hell in a hurry. David tried to remember what happened, but it was just too much to process. But he was more than worried, he was frantic. Kei had been shot down and his mind was racing, even though it had been some time since the battle had ended. Emotions were high, everyone was on edge and the only thing they could do was let out the leftover adrenaline. David could only remember a few things. He started out thinking about something Chopper asked him six years ago, just before he died. Chopper had asked him something during a communications faux-pas during the Dresdene incident.

_So what did you ask me? I never did find out. _

_I was just asking if you thought Nagase was pretty._

_Really? Good thing I said yes._

_Ha! You guys would make a great couple. But I don't think anything's going to happen between you two in reality. _

_Who's to say that it didn't?_

Then, David came back into reality in the middle of a major air battle. Bombers, fighters, and more fighters was up the clouds looking to shuffle the Allies loose the mortal coil. It was chaotic. Wardog and the Allies ran smack into three of the enemy's best squadrons. The lone Su-47 was also back and the first person he went after was Kei. That created a harsh reaction from the others as they swarmed over this one plane. Oddly, one of the Red planes cut into assist all by itself. David had a hard time figuring that move out. However, that pilot was good enough to cut through the formation of the Wardog assault. Suddenly, the Yellow F-18 Hornets all attacked together. In the matter of minutes, they took down five of the allied planes and turned on Wardog. Suddenly, to everyone's shock...one of the Red Planes had shot down Paulo. Paulo was trying to cut into assist Treya, who had been engaged with those few Black Terminators who had been rather lost in the battle. It was so sudden. Popular to the contrary, death in the air was quick...most of the time. It was a single missile, a single vaporization of an airplane. And Paulo Scirro was gone.

Everyone became bloodied after that, but that didn't mean the end of the battle. David, realizing that the Berkut wouldn't lay off Kei decided to deal with that threat. But he made a mistake with maneuvering with this advanced plane. Or maybe it was Kei who made the mistake. That couldn't be...as Kei was covering Lillian who collided with one of the red planes by all amazement. It was sort of the same circumstances in which Michael had died. But amazingly, Lillian only had her wing sheared off. It was utterly amazing considering that a reasonable person would assume that an F-16 versus a Su-37 in a collision would mean the Falcon would yield. But David guessed that Lillian was damn lucky. But Kei was not, because the Berkut had made his move...just as David cut into make his. Unfortunately, the Berkut did not go down...Kei did. But Kei was alive...and yet...it tore David apart. He was alone up there. He was only alone for once on a mission...and even then she came back to him. It tore his heart apart. Then Dispater shattered it. The Versuans' mission having failed, the Versuans targeted Dispater on the Allied air armada forcing a retreat.

Despite the losses, the Allies had performed well, knocking down almost all of the bombers and a few of fighters. The battle had been vicious and well-fought by the Allies. But that suddenly didn't matter to David. His other half, his better half, his beloved half...was in serious danger. The thought of losing her during this war was unthinkable...considering why they came back in the first place. But it wasn't just Kei that was missing. The other members of Wardog congregated in the ready room. Things were not looking good. A massive _shamal_, or sandstorm, came in just as the battle ended, preventing an aerial rescue. The problem was that Versuan _shamals_ lasted for many, many hours and could last for days. The longest _shamal_ on record actually occurred when Belkan forces were in Versua in 1994. It lasted for eight days, six hours and five minutes. Everyone was inside the room and emotions and anger were flying around like daggers…

"What the hell? Why couldn't we go back for them!?" Polly shouted.

"Because of Dispater! What do you think!?" Cormorance yelled.

"Well, we can't leave them out there!" David interjected.

"We can't do anything because of the sandstorms coming!" Andrew yelled.

"So now what?! I'm not leaving them out there!" David shouted.

"I know she's your friend and your wife but...we can't do anything now." said Andrew.

"What about Lillian?" Polly said with a severe concern.

"I just spoke to the Colonel, he thinks Lillian may have gotten picked up by the rebels." said Cormorance, with a hint anger in his voice.

"Rebels...they've a resistance movement?" Andrew said.

"Yeah...it doesn't surprise me. Why wouldn't they?" said Cormorance. Suddenly, Cormornace banged his hand against David's table.

"Those red plane bastards got Paulo! Guy had a wife, kids...Potenza and I helped raise his kids! We ate dinner with them every time we could! Our wives talked to each other every chance they could...even if it was long freaking distance...those sons of bitches! Someone's going to pay this...and it's going to be those Crimson Planes!" Cormorance shouted, before he stormed out of the room.

"Look, we're going to get them back...one way or another. I didn't come all this far to have to worry about her too." said Grimm. David arched an eyebrow. It was almost callous...as if Grimm was more concerned with his own emotions.

"What are you saying?" David asked him.

"I'm sorry...that...came out wrong. I..." said Grimm, trying to cover his verbal gaffe.

"I know, just...let's just calm ourselves down and converse about this later." David said. Grimm took a long look at David before he left. The look was a mix of worry and sadness. He'd felt the same way six years ago when she was shot down. But this time, the circumstances were very different. When Grimm finally left the room, a rather worried Sueltana came into the room. There was a look of intense worry David had never seen on her. She knew four distinct facts: Lillian had not come back, Ava had not come back, Paulo had not come back, and everyone was shouting at each other.

"What happened? Did the others die? What happened?" Sueltana asked. David was hoping that he didn't have to explain too much to this kid...but now he would have no choice. He didn't speak...he didn't need to.

"Ava's gone isn't she?" she asked, having put the facts together. The look on her face was the same as when they first met all those days ago.

"No...well, yeah...but...she's not dead." David explained.

"She's not...then...what happened? What happened to Lillian? What happened to Mr. Paulo?" she asked sadly. David couldn't break the bad news so soon. He sat down on the bed and she came over to him.

"We're not sure where Lillian is. We know she's alive, and we think she's safe...for now." David said.

"And...Mr. Paulo?" she asked, wanting the obvious. David closed his eyes for a mere moment.

"He's dead." he finally said. Sueltana's eyes started to well up, but she did not cry. She seemed used to death, but...this one truly hurt. But she did not cry.

"What happened?" she finally asked after a long pause. David froze...and then recovered as he tried to explain the truth in a method she would understand.

"I can't really explain it to you. It was...Lillian got into an accident with one of the bad guys. And, Kei was shot up real bad by them as well. They had to eject and their alive. But the bad guys, the Versuans...they killed Paulo." he said, his voice slow and halting. She sat down beside him.

"I...I'm sorry." she said sadly. David arched an eyebrow. Why would she say that?

"No...You don't have to apologize for anything. I..." David said. Sueltana was used to death...and she did not cry. She fought it back as she did a million other times. But she saw David fighting back his own. She didn't know the cruel, harsh reality of what could have happened to Ava...or Kei rather. She didn't know that David knew from Mr. Jackson about how cruel Versuans tended to be to their prisoners.

"Why are you crying? Is it because of Ava? I thought she was still alive?!" Suetlana asked.

"...no. It's not that." David responded. Sueltana got closer to him.

"My mother told me that people cry sometimes when their happy. So...is it that?" she asked.

"No...It was because I was thinking about all the terrible the bad guys could hurt her. But...we're going to get her. We know she's in Basra somewhere and soon as these damn sandstorms die down...we're finding them and bringing them home!" David said with every ounce of his conviction. He got up and left the room, rubbing Sueltana on her head just as Andrew tended to do. After letting out a tiny giggle, she jumped up.

"Go get her Jonathan! Go get 'em!" she shouted as he walked out of the room. David turned to her and returned the smile. David looked at his hands. Every day since that first battle, he had kept the words "Hope" and "Hate" written on his knuckles. Now both hands burned with fury.

**_Anapola Fortress_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1350 hrs_**

Tension. Fear. Anger. Frustration. Rage. Those were the words to describe the emotions of the pilots who'd returned from what Cale Morala called a "vicious aerial brouhaha". Not only had the attack failed, they'd lost a great deal of good pilots and equipment. More disastrously, they'd lost Iga Orace, a true class act and a valuable member of Mephisto Squadron. Baraka was angry. He was angry with Alex, with Eldrich, with Roni...angry with Xalia and mostly he was angry with himself. He could have done more. But that couldn't be...he did everything he could. But no, that couldn't be the case either. He did not get it done. Kaida and Sodel were the ones who took down the Deceivers, not Baraka. He'd already made his anger known to the others except of course, Xalia. She was standing right in front of him, just as distraught. He then proceeded to make a most unwise move.

"What were you thinking?" said Baraka, strongly.

"What do you mean?" asked Xalia, almost insulted that he would ask that question.

"Why did you chase after Kaida when Alex was in danger!?" asked Baraka, rather upset.

"Alex was fine. He was the one who always thought he could handle himself. Besides, didn't Sinora respond? You never told me to go after him!" fired Xalia.

"So you'd defend him rather than you own wingmate?" asked Baraka.

"It's not that! Were you even paying attention? They were all over him. Alex had one after him. Kaida had six. What was I supposed to do? Tell him...'Sorry, I can't help you.' Or are you just mad that he stole who you were chasing?"

"That's ridiculous!" Baraka said, becoming defensive.

"I think it is. You were angry at him for downing someone you had targeted. He stole your thunder and now they caught him...or her or whoever, he gets the credit and you do not. Besides, he's family..." continued Xalia. Xalia hoped that he didn't allude to whether or not she ever loved him. That was once, a long time ago; but she was still concerned about Kaida. Xalia was always concerned about other people, of course; but now it seemed to cause more problems.

"Shut up! He's not even related to you! Why do you care?!" shouted Baraka, his patience obviously worn thing. Xalia's face looked almost twisted. No one needed to even know what she was thinking; Xalia just looked deeply offended by that statement. This emotion was a sum of everything that Xalia feared was happening to Baraka Molina.

"Look just because...Baraka...I don't know what's happened to you over the last few days, but you've really...you've really become like...them." said Xalia, with a look of shock on her face.

Baraka didn't need to ask who "they" were. She was obviously referring to the other aces; degenerates for human beings. But Baraka couldn't throw stones like Xalia could. He knew he was once one of them.

"I loved you because once I thought you weren't the man they said you were. I guess I was wrong. You never changed at all. Now you've become just like Cale and Dorian and the others. Everyone liked you more because you were different than them. You weren't cold and were a decent person. But...I don't know..." Xalia started, shaking her head when she paused. Then she turned back to him and began again.

"Look, I made a decision, okay? You may think it was wrong, but it was it a case of numbers and survivability. I was trying to keep everyone alive. It's not just you and you've known that. You told me once that you'd never judge for doing what I said I was going to do, what I pledged to do! I never was there for kills, I was there...I _am_ up in the skies to protect. That's what we do! And I supported your quest because I thought that you understood. But I guess you never did and I'm beginning to think your enemy is becoming more important to you than us." Xalia shouted

"He is! So don't question my motives. You're the one who doesn't understand! For the first time in my life I have an equal. You're the one says that you understood me, now you know." Baraka shouted. Xalia looked almost ready to shed a tear or two. It depressed her that he was yelling at her. She tried to admonish herself, saying that it was not her way. It was not her way to get emotional...but she was; it was because she knew what she felt. Baraka sensed that he may have gone too far. He almost questioned his own sense of honesty.

"Look, I didn't mean to lash out at you but...this is...this has become my mission now. He killed two of our guys...and I have to…" began Baraka, but Xalia cut him off.

"It wasn't just him. They were others. Why are you so obsessed with one man? We're losing this war because of more than one man! That's all you wanted was him! Never mind all the people around you who were in trouble...but yet you criticize me for doing what I promised to do! Look, I still love you...but I will **_not_** be your scapegoat! " Xalia said. She boiled in vicious anger, turned on her heels and walked away.

Baraka let her go. She probably needed some time to cool off. But the fact remained that man was still alive. Deep down, Baraka wanted revenge for Sodel and Iga. But she did have a point. They were losing the war because of more than the Deceiver's head ace. But what did that matter? Mephisto couldn't win the war themselves. Baraka blamed the others for not doing their part.

But the others _did_ do their part, by technicality. They showed up and they fought...but lost a tough battle. Both sides had casualties, but the outnumbered Allied Force fought like dogs. They fought to protect Duga as if it was their own land. That idea hurt most of all. In fact, everyone was hurting. But the Allies didn't care about their problems. Their job was the same as the Mephisto's...to kill. The Allies didn't care because they didn't want to. The Oseans believed they were in the right, even though they'd screwed Versua several times over in the past. Apparently the Osean Federation had short memories. It was that thinking that kept Baraka fighting and his head high. He felt that he could serve as a hero to the people.

There was just one tiny problem. The majority of the people of Versua didn't care. For a long time, the White Crow had been a symbol of oppression and their loyalty was ensured...at the end of a rifle. But with Masson's iron fisted control over every form of media, there was no way for the world to know the truth...until now. Baraka had lived above that life, not even caring for the people below but rather the skies above. Baraka thought of himself as a hero...the problem was, there were so few of them. Any heroes in Versua were an aberration. The soldiers merely did their jobs, but the government and their military command were so filled with corruption as to make any idea of a hero of Versua...an invalid concept. There were far too many malevolent figures in the White Crow...and one of them was on the precipice of torturing a certain Kei Nagase...

Next: Chapter 16: The Face of the Enemy


	16. The Face of the Enemy

Chapter 16: The Face of the Enemy

"_...You are certain you'd be no better or worse a man if you'd killed one or all of the men you sometimes fantasized about killing." - excerpt from "Jarhead"_

**_South Basra Penitentiary, Basra Outskirts_**

**_Basra_****_, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_1600 hrs_**

Chief Investigator Rory Lashus was staring at this female pilot as if it was his birthday. Lashus wasn't exactly keen on Osean culture or their pilots for that matter. But he had more than a simple pilot. It was a woman, and Lashus loved women. Not to mention the most important fact of all: this was one of the "Deceivers". Thus, this was a gift from heaven.

"Ava...Sosabee. God, that name sounds so fake. DOB: 12/25/86." he said, looking at this woman's dog tag. Kei looked right at him, but the man did not return the stare for a minute. Finally, he looked right at her and spoke his words. There was the obvious air of uncertainty and malevolence about this man.

"You know, you're the first woman I've ever had to interrogate. I'm really going to enjoy this...you may not. Correction, you _won't_ enjoy it...but I certainly will." said Lashus with a smile on his face.

Kei thought in a dark humored sense that this man's name itself was probably intended to be a pun on the brutal work that he did. It wouldn't have been so bad if he sounded like he was not going to enjoy doing whatever it is he intended to do to Kei.

"Before we start, I think an introduction is in order. I am Chief Investigator Rory Lashus of the White Crow's Intelligence Division. Normally, a lesser officer would do this but...I used to have this very job. When I heard that one of the Deceivers was in our hands...I just couldn't resist." said Lashus. He was pacing around a bit snapping his fingers every couple of seconds. But Kei did not speak to him. She had no reason to speak...yet. He seemed rather excited.

"I see you're a quiet one; I like that. It makes my job easier." said Lashus.

Kei didn't want to speak to this man. She was not going to tell him anything. She wasn't going to sell out the people that were in her company. Sure she only knew them for the span of two months; these were people who had families, families of their own, kids, people that cared for them. To sell them out to spare Kei from the inevitable brutal suffering she would have to subjected to...would disgrace the pride and trust of those people in Wardog. To do that, more importantly, would to destroy her husband trust and betray her daughter's memory. So she continued to maintain her silence even as Lashus approached her. He started to speak, but wave his hand as if dismissing himself.

"I'm going to ask you some questions and depending upon how you answer you will...never mind. The truth is, I've never been one to _ask_ for information. I've always _demanded_ information and I will get it one way or another. Now, I want to know the names of all your wingmen. I want their ages, their planes, callsigns, personality traits, your superiors, if they have wives or kids...anything and everything." said Lashus.

Kei still said nothing. She maintained the stoic look on her face. Lashus was incredulous; he started laughing at the very notion of her silence. _Does this Osean broad have any idea who she's dealing with_, Lashus thought. He began to walk behind a large computer panel of some sorts. Kei followed his every move with her eyes as he began to push a few buttons on the device. But after a long pause, he finally spoke.

"...I don't think I made myself clear. Unlike you or the Allies, I am not beholden to delusions of morality or mercy. You've been no doubt wondering what this apparatus you're strapped onto is. Allow me to demonstrate...what it does. I call this device the _Lighting Rack_. It's actually somewhat dated, but I've never had the chance to test it on a woman...until now." said Lashus.

With the last press of the button, Kei heard an electrical whir and she felt the piercing pain of what felt like a thousand needles stabbing her and breaking skin all at once. It was a burning pain, something that seemed ominously similar to what Grimm said about Lauren said about being struck by Dispater; _I'd never felt pain like that in my life. It was like a million needles pouring into my body…a million hot, burning needles. _

_So this was what it was like, _she thought. Now she wanted to really murder this man. But as she thought that...she was hit with another shock of burning electricity.

Her body started shaking, her heart wasn't beating; it was pulsing so violently that it felt like it was going to tear itself out her chest...as if it were in some cheap horror movie. She suddenly couldn't hear that loud, annoying, electrical whir anymore. How could she hear that sound over the voice of her own scream? The pain had caught her off guard, but the screams suddenly turned into violent grunts of resistance. Now that she'd fully ascertained what this man was going to do, she knew exactly what she had to do. In the span of a few seconds...she fought back. She took the pain. She was going to take it for everyone she cared about, living or dead.

But for Lashus, the screams were ambrosia. It was not quite the epitome of his work, but it was close. Lashus appreciated the idea of inflicting and reveling in human suffering in exchange for information. But now it was sheer ecstasy. Now he finally was able to see what a woman could endure under the torture of this device.

"Over the years, I've met some defiant ones. But they all talk. They always do." He said while Kei writhed painfully on the machine. After about twenty seconds, he cut the device off. After a few seconds, and after he asked the question again, and she remained silent, he did it again. But now Kei had expected it. She intended to frustrate this man. But deep in the back of her mind...she wanted to murder this man. Kei had felt that the enemy couldn't be all bad and they were worthy of the little pity she still had. But this sadist didn't qualify as far as Kei Nagase was concerned.

After all, Kei knew that this man killing her would serve no purpose. So she took the pain. She took the pain for David, Grimm, Polly, Cormorance, Sueltana, Serena, even Lucien strangely enough. She took it for her country. She took the pain for the dearly departed, like Catherine, Paulo, Chopper and Pops...because they would want her too. She took the pain for everyone. She took it for her enemies...and somehow God would have mercy on these poor souls of Versua who no doubt had to endure the psychotic whims of the Masson's criminal sycophants. Her flesh felt as if it was on fire, but it wasn't. Finally, he stopped it again. Kei's hair was a mess, there was sweat from every pore on her body. Her joints were in agony and yet, she still wondered if this was the worst he could do. Lashus was beginning to lose the first bits of his patience.

"We're not getting anywhere Mrs. Ava. I wonder what your husband would think if he saw this." said Lashus, again, focusing on the wedding band.

Kei's look was one of a crazed, angry sort; not that Lashus cared. He thought it was humorous for the simple reason that he was not intimidated by this woman. He was, however, surprised by this woman's resilience. Usually, most would give up after three or four shocks...but, she was still keeping on. Kei couldn't give up now. To give up now would have been cowardly. She'd been through worse. Childbirth was just painful than this, and that was a pain she endured because she wanted to as well. Needless to say, Kei had plenty of experience in masochism; the fire in her heart was that of hatred and Kei was going to direct its heat his way.

"He'd have killed you by now." Kei said though the pain. Lashus, amazingly, didn't hesitate with his response. Lashus always liked to find out about his enemies' lives.

"Oh, is he soldier too?" asked Lashus, still pacing about.

"As a matter of fact...yes he is; a very good one at that. You'd have loved to meet him." Kei said, putting a positive spin on the entire ordeal.

"I'm sure I would. One has to wonder though…what would he say if he were standing right here right now." said Lashus in a haughty, and yet almost humorous tone.

"He'd say you were insane; _then_ he would have killed you." said Kei. Lashus laughed. He found this Ava Sosebee rather entertaining.

"He'd probably say the same to you." said Lashus in a cliché response. "You are one strong woman I will admit. But how strong are you really? That's the question."

Kei felt the touch of pain once again. But in this iteration, it felt that this Lashus' own hatred was directed through the machine. Now Kei could feel her skin start to blister. But she wasn't out of it yet. She screamed...not her own pain, but right at him. Her look was a crazed, barbaric one But Lashus was not quite fazed by it. He had the disturbing look of a man who'd been there before. Lashus remembered the first time he demonstrated this kind of interrogation to Rue Daydenko, the sister of the late fighter ace Dorian "The Jawbreaker" Daydenko. Rue was petrified but even though Rory had only done it a few times before, his dedication and loyalty to Masson and the White Crow's dream was enough to block out whatever perceived inhumanity he possessed. In his mind, Rory Lashus was merely fulfilling his duty to his country.

"But...I'm not that bad a guy…I'm just a man doing his duty." he said. Lashus liked dealing with people who had families. They had much more to lose...but she was still being defiant. Why? It didn't make much sense.

Kei's blood was boiling. She knew that bad guys never thought they were bad guys; but to subject this to a personal kind of barbaric, inhuman treatment and have the gall to say it to her face...that was downright insolent. It was insulting Kei's intelligence. But Kei knew she could do nothing at this point but play the waiting game. She thought about David during it all. It gave her the push of optimism she needed to outlast this kind of torture.

At this point, Lashus could see that this Ava was on the verge of collapsing though. She could barely lift her head. However, she somehow gathered the strength to lift her visage; an angry, vicious countenance at that. She was shaking, but there was no sign of agony on her face. Only hate. Her voice was like that of a mouse, but she spoke it anyway.

"Okay...I'll tell you what I do know. Just come a little closer...I don't want to shout anymore." said Kei almost breathlessly.

Rory was anxious to hear her answer. He could hear the pain in her voice. She hid it well, but now she finally waving the white flag. Something in the back of his mind told him that something was amiss. As such, he held his sidearm with his left hand and approached this woman. He came to her and started to tidy her hair up a bit, then she finally spoke. But her voice was not as quiet as it was initially. It was an angry hate filled voice. And most amazingly of all...it was not only defiant...it was almost as if she was laughing at him!

"Is that the best you can do? You're just another overcompensating tough guy talking big when you're losing the war...so you can go fuck yourself." she said with the most twisted smile. Lashus' face turned purple. He'd had it with this woman.

For the longest time, Lashus had used women like the objects he believed they were. His whole life he'd been taught that from his father in the face of more enlightened thinking. Women were merely objects to be used and thrown away. This Ava Sosabee was no different. Then again, Portia was no different either...but that was neither here nor there at the moment. So he snapped...and began to strangle her.

Now Kei was caught off guard. She was totally not expecting him to snap like this. It seemed fitting, and yet also strangely out of character, for this kind of a sadist. After all, this attack was usually done with the intent to kill. But his eyes...they had the look of hesitation in them. It was almost as if he didn't want to kill her...but he wouldn't lose sleep over it if he did. But the rage was still there, as it was evident in his vicious words.

"I don't hear you laughing now! Give their names!" Lashus said, abandoning his smooth, seductive voice for one filled as much vitriol and hate as Kei had in her soul. But Kei merely smiled at him...in an evil, mocking look at that. Suddenly, he let go and pulled out a small nine millimeter pistol and pointed it right the crane of her neck. Everyone broke; everyone talked...until now.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't splatter your head all over these walls!" Lashus said shouting, probably against his better judgment. But the sudden appearance of a single individual removed all doubt about whether or not this was good judgment.

"Because it's not very polite...isn't it?" said a mysterious voice. Lashus turned and saw the last person he wanted to see at the moment. It was the one-eyed middle son of General Rossi...Gintoli Rossi. Lashus knew Rossi from when he was a mere rookie working in the recon squadrons. But he suffered a terrible accident during an ejection, and now he was working with the intelligence guys up at the Wing Level command.

"Gintoli! What the _hell_ are you doing here?" asked Lashus. Lashus was more taken by surprise of him being here now, rather than being here at all. It was his area after all...but the timing of his appearance could not have been worse for Rory.

"That's Colonel now...and I'm taking command of this interrogation." said the officer walking toward him. Kei stared at the man. He was about the same age Kei was, and looked just as attractive as this Lashus...of course, the eye patch docked a few points from that score.

"Under what command!? I have authority here!" Lashus responded angrily. Gintoli Rossi handed him a sheet of paper.

"Says this; with the regards of High Command. And besides, this is a _military_ prisoner and is thus a _military_ matter. Despite the desperate times, it doesn't give you the right to circumvent the chain of command, no matter who you report to. However, given the circumstances...we only wanted to talk to her first and then we would have moved it up to you and your group if necessary...but you decided to jump the gun again, I see." said the officer. It seemed that this man was angrier at the timing and fact that their superiors were upset at Lashus going over their heads.

"Damn it all." said Lashus. He was hoping to get what he needed before the brass showed up. Despite his orders, Portia and her men had issued it separately of the Command. But how did they find out so soon? It didn't matter now. He'd probably get written up and reported for the incident. But Lashus didn't care. His superiors were going to hear about this.

"Fine. I'll be back." said Lashus straight to Kei. Kei replied the sentiment in kind...by spitting in his face. Lashus was appalled as he wiped the errant saliva from his face. He wanted to smack this woman right in the face...but he knew that would only draw harsh words from the men behind him.

"How civilized; I used to think highly of your people. Just another ignorant materialistic whore from Oured." said Lashus.

"Lashus, enough! Just for the record, just because you were with Orchid does not mean we have to bring back the old days. I guess when some people evolved you missed out on the memo. We're not losing this war just because of this woman...we're losing this damn war because of her friends; the Allied army. They've proven their mettle while our army retreats." said this Gintoli, getting right in Lashus' face. Rory didn't appreciate this; Rory didn't appreciate being talked down to by people...much less military people. After all, Rory was of the Inner Circle for crying out loud. He could have had Gintoli killed.

"Are you questioning Command's judgment, old friend?" Lashus said, after a long pause. However, it was clear that Gintoli Rossi was not intimidated by the likes of Rory Lashus.

"You know...it may have been good for _you_ to have some questions of your own from time to time. Am I an asshole? Am I stuck in an obsolete era? Am I a man who undermines top ranking, highly respected military personnel...for his own gain?" said Gintoli.

"What do base that upon?" Lashus said. "How did he know about this?" This was bizarre, thought Lashus. Portia's orders came from the White Crow's intelligence division..._not_ the Air Force's intelligence group. Graysel had no authority to inform General Morales or Rossi about this. The old man Graysel, despite being out of touch, didn't seem like the kind of person to circumvent Masson's authority.

"General Rossi told me everything. My father was not too pleased with you criticizing him so publicly. Now if you'll please..." said Gintoli, signaling to the open door. Lashus began to leave, the mystery of this confusion tearing his mind. But then he suddenly turned to his old colleague.

"Fine. Just for the record...how the hell did you become a colonel? You're a year this woman's junior and you're a full colonel. How the hell does that work? I know even your father wouldn't have pushed that favor." asked Lashus.

"Well, our division brass was severely depleted following the disaster in the Moab Madra. Someone had to take their places. I was actually the last to be tapped for command; does that answer your question?" Gintoli replied.

Lashus let out an angry sigh and left the room. Gintoli breathed a sigh of relief. Like some precious few of the air force, Gintoli was a prodigy of the Osean School of military thought. But, fewer became successful in the Versuan service. Gintoli Rossi, Alex Haari, and Ammon Kaida were the exceptions to the rule. Gintoli, with his new rank, had learned some of the terrible things that happened in these prisons. But since this facility was run by elements of the air force...it was technically their jurisdiction. Although Gintoli was unsure who sung about Lashus' sudden interference. But whoever it was, worked damn fast since the time frame was only about two hours.

He gracefully had his aides remove Kei from the apparatus and moved her to less machine filled room, but not without handcuffing both her wrists. Gintoli wasn't stupid. He was even gracious enough to offer her a drink of water, which she found hard to drink because her hands were shaking so much. It was a long, unsettling time before he finally spoke to her. His motions were the polar opposite of the man who'd spent the short time torturing her. This officer was like a cold stone. He seemed like the kind of man who was meticulous and appreciated attention to detail.

"My apologies for my colleague's rudeness; he's not even military. He just thinks he is because he served with a "Division". He just plays military in this little torture room." said Gintoli. Kei was skeptical of this man but he was no Lashus…that was for _damn_ sure.

"Why should I appreciate your good graces? What, because...I'm a woman? You'd probably do the same thing he did to me...to a man." said Kei, passively aggressive. But Gintoli acted as if he didn't care that much.

"No, I'm not a torturer. I'm a soldier...not a animal, even though sometimes I work with animals. I fought against insurgents and terrorists long before this war, but this..." the Colonel pointing to his eye patch, "relegated me to ground duty."

Kei froze for a mere minute and shot him a cockeyed confused look.

"You've certainly been nicer than the other guards. Why? Hoping to sweeten me up? No thanks. So you can lock me up and throw away the key...I don't care. I'm still alive...that's all that matters." said Kei, almost as if she didn't give a damn. But the Colonel knew that she was playing a game. He knew how she really felt. But that wasn't what was on his mind. Gintoli knew a lot about the people in his father's company, and they weren't all good people. On the contrary, most of them were bad guys.

"About two years ago, my father told me that was very easy to tell who the enemy was when this country was divided. But as it went along, it was more difficult to tell which side anyone was on. This country is not like yours. Our country is a toxic soup of cultures. Now it's become even harder to tell who is on which side." said Gintoli. Kei did a double take.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked reflexively.

"From one soldier to another...you might say. To be honest, I can't say your stay here will be pleasant...but I'm going to make sure that device is permanently retired." said Gintoli finally leaving the room. Kei almost wanted to grab him before he left the room, but she was too physically weak to do so.

"No really...why are you telling me this? Am I supposed to assume there are more good guys among you? _You_ declared war on us..._you_ broke up our lives, _you_ killed many of our soldiers...and you think I'm supposed to _understand_ you? Don't kid yourself." said Kei defiantly. But Gintoli did not turn, even he answered her question.

"You've done the same to us. In reality, I don't think either side is better than the other. You'll see. When this war is over, you will know the true colors of both sides. I guarantee you, you won't be able to tell good from evil." said Gintoli before he finally left the room.

Kei pondered his words for a long time as she drifted off to sleep. Kei lent against the wall, and curled into what looked like a fetal position, and fell into a deep sleep after a long moment of thinking. She felt cold. She felt as cold as that day when the Razgriz died and she was plucked from the icy Ceres Ocean. She felt as cold as she did when she fell asleep on David's shoulder, shivering to her viscera. And she dreamed...she dreamed about days gone by. She thought about Catherine, about her husband, about Grimm and Lauren and Martha, Pops, Chopper, Bartlett, Cormorance, Polly, Lillian, Paulo, Andrew, Michael, Sueltana, Ella, Serena, and even Lucien. She dreamt about them all...

**_Vastos, Versua_**

**_December 20, 2016_**

**_2000 hrs_**

David Lovecraft was furious. It wasn't a lack of effort on Command's part to rescue the fallen members of Wardog's contingent...it was just that they couldn't. The _shamal_, the massive sandstorms of Versua, had engulfed the entire region south of them and the even the tip of the Moab Madra. Now Vastos itself was consumed by sand and wind making flight almost impossible. He hated these meetings in empty rooms with Lucien Jackson. David had been asked to converse with Lucien, if one could call it a conversations. Lucien Jackson's conversations were boring, yet manipulative and seemed one way a lot of times. But David knew that man had resources beyond anything anyone imagined. Of course, David knew the CIA had such power. But David had always been skeptical of that man. Perhaps he knew something about Kei...

"You wanted to see me?" asked David as he entered the room. Lucien was finishing a conversation on a satellite phone.

"Yes, sit down. We have some good news and some bad news." said Lucien. David sat down in front of the empty room with Lucien. He wasn't even looking at David, just typing away at some computer.

"What's the bad news?" David asked.

"The bad news is we will be unable to do anything offensive-wise until these damn sandstorms die down. And that could last for at least another twenty four more hours, give or take. The good news is that your wife is alive and well...but, we may not need to rescue her after all." said Lucien.

"What's the catch?" David asked skeptically.

"What am I'm going to say next cannot leave this room." said Lucien. If David had a dime for every time he heard that line...

"Okay...whatever." David said without a care.

"You remember Mr. Clarke? My subordinate who was with me when I visited you back in St. Helena?" asked Lucien.

"Vaguely." replied David.

"That man has infiltrated a section of the Versuan resistance codename: Southern Alliance. It was the rebels who picked up Miss Izzo. They have ascertained the location of one Ava or Kei, whatever you call each other. They are going to make an attempt to free the poor women sometime in the next few hours. She is being held in a prison somewhere outside Basra, behind the enemy lines. The sandstorms have reached Basra, and all sort of havoc is being wreaked on the city. But because of the treacherous flying conditions we cannot support an assault until the sandstorms go away. She is going to be transferred sometime early this morning to a place deeper behind enemy lines. The resistance plans to make their assault during a shift change at midnight. Their leaders in the area have agreed to a rendezvous point with our forces at a place where the Allies have cut into the Anapola. Point 73 Easting, a small valley held by Osean tanks, will be that area; it's within a long, but manageable, driving distance." said Lucien.

"I see. So..." David froze for a mere moment. He knew about the resistance, and suddenly, once he had that thought...his mood became much brighter.

"We'll see what we can do from our end, but for right now...there's little we can do." said Lucien. David quickly left, not even caring to ask Lucien what his stake was in all this. But it didn't seem like he was plotting against anyone. Yet his motives seemed suspect...and yet there was nothing he could do about it. He left and ran smack into Sueltana...and her appearance had caught David's eye. Sueltana had done something odd. Now she'd painted her eyes with black mascara! _Was this some kind of fad now_, David thought.

"Do you like it?" she asked, arms out as if to say, "Look at me!"

"Yeah...I like it. I like it a lot." said David.

"Look...I even wrote those words on your hand." said Sueltana, showing him where she'd wrote Hope on her hand. David laughed. Having Sueltana was the best thing to happen to this squadron. It was if her mission in life was to make everyone else happy, even despite her own tragedies. But Sueltana was becoming more like David by the day.

"Look, you don't have to do all this stuff to impress me. We like you as you are. But...you do look really cool." said David. But instead of lighting up like she usually did...she asked a more important question.

"Is Ava going to be alright?" she asked with a sad face. David brought his eyes to her own.

"We're trying to get to her. But...she's alive...and I think she's going to be okay." David said. He didn't bother to add, _I hope_. But he smiled and hugged her before he left. She ran off and David felt strange. Was this girl sent by some deity...was she to replace Catherine? But Catherine was irreplaceable; and yet...this girl reminded him more and more of that beautiful four year old. As David went back into his room, he sat down and...wept. He wept for Kei, for Catherine, and all those other people. He threw and shattered a lamp along the wall in anger. He'd never felt so helpless.

**_Over Point 73 Easting_**

**_December 21, 2016_**

**_0700 hrs_**

It felt like an eternity, but Kei Nagase dreamed about everyone. She felt she was in a room with no doors or lights...only visions. She dreamed about the memories days, months and years gone by. She thought about all the events she could...but then again she could remember so much. As she tried in her mind...it became like a blur of time. Her mind was filled with all kinds of emotions and memories flooded into her brain. She saw a glimpse of everything she experienced from her past. She saw the good things, the bad things, and the downright terrible things. She remembered the first time she flew.

_Nagase, you keep flying like that and you're going to die real soon._

_I won't die sir._

Her mind became a haze. It felt like she was seeing herself in the past. She then felt the kiss. She felt him. She felt Blaze. It felt almost orgasmic. She remembered her tear she had when she simply took her own initiative and pressed her lips against Blaze's own. She remembered the odd thing Blaze did; with his finger, he took from his face the saline fluid that was from the tear glands of the woman he loved...and tasted it. And Kei remembered the last conversation before Blaze left alone into Belka as they tried to stop that terrible war six years ago.

_So I'm going into Belka to spy on the enemy alone...kinda strange for me. _

_Look, I know you know who I feel about you but..._

_What is it?_

_Don't die on me. Come back to me._

She felt the kiss and suddenly the haze of her mind turned to the air. She was turning and burning above the Ceres Ocean trying to bring an end to the terrible war six years ago.

_The Osean fleet has turned on us!_

_My IFF is inop...what's going on? They're really shooting at me!_

_Of course they are! They don't know us...we're supposed to be dead!_

_Has this what it's come to? This battle is going to tear us apart!_

_These idiots! Can't they see that their being used!_

_We can't let them crush our chance to have peace!_

She remembered their first night together, as out of place as it seemed, it was important to her. It what started this chain of events that led them to Versua.

_You have no idea how long I've waited for this. But...you look nervous. I understand. I'm kinda nervous too, but..._

_It's just that...when I first saw you...I didn't know what kind of partner I'd be for you. It was the first time I ever thought about a woman like that...almost. But...now..._

_You're worried about what kind of father you'd be._

_Yeah. I guess._

_We've been the right people for each other for a reason. But, as for your question, you'll be the perfect father. I know. I grew up wanting the man I loved to never be like my father and you nothing like him by a MILE._

_I wanted my kid to be whatever he or she wanted to be. I've been thinking about that._

_Well...let's find out._

She thought about Echo Park. She thought about how David had fulfilled every one of Kei's dreams about how a father should be. He held his daughter in his arms and promised the world to her.

_You see all that Catherine? That city, the sky, the lake...all of this will be yours someday._

_For me?_

_Someday, you'll have the world and everything in it. You'll get to decide what to do with this place._

_You're father's right. This world belongs to you and you'll shape it how you wish._

She then thought about the death of Pops. It was so sudden, so shocking.

_I'm so sorry. He was a good friend to you wasn't he?_

_I'm sure went peacefully though._

_I don't think a stroke is peaceful...I mean...I know my dad didn't go like that..."_

_Lauren...do me a favor. Just stop comforting us alright?_

_I'm just being honest; I mean it is sad, yes. I know…I'm just...okay, I'm shutting up now. Stupid Lauren, stupid me! Are you happy?_

_You think if Pops was still alive, he'd probably call us crazy for sitting here being sad he's gone._

_Then let's be glad he lived then._

_I'll agree to that. Amen._

...Then Lucien's appearance. She remembered him being such a scourge. She remembered him manipulating her emotions to enlist her and her husband once again.

_And you want us to come back? Are you insane? We spent those months fighting a war that no one wanted to fight and we went through all that trouble...just to have you show up and ask us to come back?! I mean, we just buried..._

_I know. I am aware. But believe me, I wouldn't lack this much tact if there wasn't a need for your services. I've got kids too. I understand. But whether or not you realize it not, there is another war brewing in Verusa. Just no one realizes it yet. Except us._

...But when Kei came back, she was filled with blood and hate for her enemies.

_I'm ready. Let them come. I'm ready for them. I'm ready to tear their wings from their planes!_

_Ava...are you okay?_

_Ladies and gentlemen, let's go cut their goddamned throats!_

...Kei felt powerful. She felt like a God when she struck fear into her enemies.

_Did you feel like I did? I felt...righteous for some reason. For the first time I felt...powerful. I felt like I could feel their fear. I wanted them to feel what I felt when I saw that sinking ship._

_How did it feel? It felt like a razor blade was being stabbed into me while I was trying to fly. I couldn't function right. It didn't feel right at first. I was hesitating; I was jumpy...that wasn't the way I was long ago._

...Despite her humility then, the hatred began to slowly destroy her. But at this point, it was only slow erosion that couldn't be seen.

_You think I'm better than you David? I think not. I've never flown better than you._

_Well you had to do that...how else could you keep up with that enemy plane?_

_Well...I mean, I did the best I could._

...Then, the wheels came off when it mattered most. She tried to alienate the man she loved with a belligerent, angry voice. She was directing her hate at him...a terrible bout of bad judgment.

_They used us as test dummies for their weapons; a weapon that killed a lot of people on all sides: allies, civilians and their own soldiers! Where have you been for the last few weeks?_

"_What...what happened didn't change for me either. But is really just for us...or her? I think our emotions are misplaced. Who is this for Kei; us...or her? Or you?"_

_I intend to carry out what I promised myself I'd do. And I intend to do that...with or without your help._

...But she forgave herself and he forgave her. And she felt the kiss of her husband's lips as they tried to reconnect with their love.

_When we were fighting, we were filled with hate and forgot why we were here. We both had so much hate in us that...we fought each other. I don't want us to fight. Because if we let Catherine's death tear us both apart, then the enemy will win. Let's not forget about her...but let's not let her death become our own. Neither of us wants that to happen._

_You're right. When I was out there, I felt alone with all that hate. You could have been there...but I wouldn't have noticed. No...I can't go through that anymore._

_So...let's pledge allegiance to each other and leave the hate out of the war. Make Catherine the memory...not the reason._

Kei awoke with a start. She could feel the bumps and weightlessness of her surroundings. She certainly felt like she was in a vehicle. But the people around her didn't seem hostile. What was going on?

"Don't worry, you'll be alright." said a voice. Kei looked at the main above her who said those words. He looked almost...he looked like an Allied soldier. Kei felt dizzy at first. Then she listened to the sounds of the blades. She was in a helicopter. The man sounded familiar.

"What...?" she asked, her voice breathless and pained.

"We're in some chopper and we're going home Ava!" said a familiar voice. Lillian almost skipped over to her, trying to avoid falling in the shaky chopper.

"Lillian! What...what's going on!?" said Kei. Lillian was literally straddling her and shaking her in sheer jubilation. One thing that slightly annoyed Kei about Lillian was that she had no concept of personal space.

"Well, it's a long story. See, the resistance got you out of that prison during the sand storm. But they injected you with some kind of sedative." said Lillian. "They saved me too. Though for some reason one of them thought I was a lesbian but..."

"What...?" Kei said, her eyes looking as if she rolled out of bed on the wrong side of the mattress.

"They injected you with this kind of local herbal healing stuff...hard to explain, but you were out for a long time." said Lillian.

"Oh..." Kei said, breathlessly.

"Oh, come on! Stop with the long face! We're going home! We're alive!" said Lillian, kissing Kei on the forehead. Kei knew, of course, that women tended to be more affectionate to each other than men...but...Kei was caught off guard. Maybe that guy was right about her; but then again, Kei was not going to judge her if she was...well...it didn't matter. She was a good pilot and a better person.

"Okay...I don't know if I'm supposed to be flattered or freaked out by that...but...I'll stay with flattered for the moment." said Kei, almost sounding inebriated. "What about the prison? Did they kill anyone?"

"I was there. It was a war zone. The sand storm masked everything." one of the soldiers said. Kei thought this guy sounded familiar. He was underneath some kind of mask. But it almost sounded like that George Mason Clarke guy...

"What about that guy...that man...?" asked Kei. She tried to make her voice sound angry, but her weakness was making it sound feeble and pathetic.

"Who?" the man asked.

"There was this bastard who tortured me while I was there..." Kei said. Lillian then pulled out something. It looked like a letter.

"Oh, our friend who got you out told me to give you this." said Lillian, handing her the letter.

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_I apologize for not meeting you in person, but I did manage to free you from your chains. Tell your allies that the red carpet will be laid out for them whenever they come to Basra. As for your torturer, let's just say he's expired to natural causes. Of course, two pistol shots to the back of the head will naturally end one's life. Farewell, Deceiver. I wish you the best and we offer you our thanks. Your thanks to us will be paid forward with your victory over the White Crow._

_- The Looking Glass_

"Here," said Lillian giving Kei a canteen of water, "Drink up, be merry! You're going to see your husband again...he's going to be so happy. We're going to see the others again...we're going to go and kick some Versuan ass! Hell yeah!"

Kei sat back down on the floor and laughed at the exhilarated Lillian's words. She didn't care who the Looking Glass was. Nor did she care if she hurt all over her body. There was nothing but smiles now. She closed her eyes and imagined her husband's warm embrace and she shuttered with emotion. She let out a passionate sigh and despite the aches and pains she'd suffered; it felt good to be alive. And for the first time in her life...she was glad that Lashus got what was coming to him. She was happy that someone was dead.

**_Caste van Veranna_**

**_Clavis, Verusa_**

**_December 21 2016_**

**_0730 hrs_**

Portia Masson was furious. The war was slipping away from Versua and she and High Command had been subjected to serial misfortunes during these few days. Bitter defeats and scaling losses were bad enough. However, the most frustrating of all was her father's usage, or lack thereof, of the Dispater Tower. To make things worse, Rory Lashus was dead. No doubt killed by the Looking Glass as another of his calling cards was left. He was shot with the same silenced double taps to the head that Saito had been killed with; Portia never cared for Rory the way he thought, but he was still a very valuable asset to her plans.

To add insult to injury, her annoying sister Sasha calls and says she's pregnant. That news made Portia's skin crawl. Now she knew why Sasha insisted on keeping her at her own house. The thought of a little Sasha-Ammon progeny was just unthinkable; and of all the horrible timing for news like that! It was not like Portia would ever be happy for that annoying gregarious, acerbic, bimbo of a half-sister...

But she put it aside for the time being. She had other matters. Morales was inspecting Dispater along with Percival and Zorba. Portia was at her own estate close to the castle. Portia often had meetings with Percival, Zorba, and Morales here...without her father's notice. After all, they were the only people she trusted if she was going to fulfill her master plans. Soon, the White Crow would be in a position of advantage. There would be no passive warfare. The Allies were about to feel the full wrath of the White Crow...but a certain problem had to be disposed of. But people were getting wise. Portia had to deal with them.

However, she also had to deal with the incompetent. As much as she hated Sasha, she was not incompetent. Incompetent people were the bane of Portia's existence. It just so happened that all these terrible events of the past several days fell General Rossi's way. Rossi, who led the air force, was the perfect scapegoat. So now she confronted him in her conference room. The only other people there were two black uniformed guards and Rossi himself.

"A very important prisoner escapes from our grasp...on your son's watch, my most important subordinate is found dead in a ditch, we lose two dozen planes in a single engagement...a serial group of failures Rossi." said Portia, not turning her back.

"There was nothing we could do. The sandstorm masked their attack. Communications was down. Why is this failure on my shoulders anyway?" said Rossi, but his rationalization fell on deaf ears.

"I'm sure there is a host of others that should take the blame and they will be held accountable. But, you're the easiest target." said Portia.

"What?! How dare you? I've been a loyal party member for..." started Rossi stammering.

"Of course; but loyalty only matters for so long. My father may concern himself with loyalty. But to Morales and I...it's results we care about." said Portia. But Rossi, once he heard Morales' name, knew that his time was over. It was clear that Masson had a hand in it...but it didn't make it any less heartbreaking. But he maintained a sense of stoicism.

"So am I to be replaced?" Rossi said simply.

"You catch on fast. Morales couldn't be here to do it personally. So he offered me this executive...sheet or whatever it is for your summary termination from your position effective immediately." said Portia handing him a affidavit from Morales. Rossi didn't even bother to read it. Now the look of anger came over him. He was insulted now that a friend and colleague would do this so callously.

"So this is how it ends? What about the Dispater Tower? You're asking me to take the blame for this war! Your father?" said Rossi angrily. Portia responded to him coming close to him.

"Morales wanted you to know it wasn't personal. It was an efficiency and production issue...not a personal matter. Unfortunately, I am a bit different. I am insulted by your efforts. To be honest, from the day my father made me a part of this government, I never thought you were fit to this position. I take this very personally. You're like the eccentric uncle hired to a company because you were in the family. But then again...General Morales and my father were the ones who selected you to this position as well. While my father can be a fool at times, Morales sees the results of his mistake." said Portia, not even once breaking eye contact.

"You couldn't resist a parting shot. So I guess it's time." said Rossi, almost knowing what was going to happen next. She was going to have the opportunity to do what she'd wanted to do for nearly two years now. And no one could stop her...because by now, she had far too much support. Now Portia could choose the time and place it would happen. She could choose when she wanted to take the reins of the White Crow from her father.

"You're right." said Portia with an evil smile. Suddenly, she quickly reached in her back pocket and pulled out a silenced pistol and shot him once in the stomach. A wounded and debilitated Rossi fell to the floor. It was now that he realized what a waste his life had been. All his victories, all the time he invested everyone and everything he sacrificed for power and prestige...all for nothing. And yet, he was not surprised. Not even the guards in the room reacted.

"Your old boss failed the first time. Now I will succeed where he failed. And you're one less person I have to get rid of before I take my father's place." said Portia. Rossi had the look of hatred in his eyes.

"Know this, woman...someone you least expect will make sure you pay for everything you're going to do." said Rossi, struggling to breath and holding the gaping wound in his sternum.

"Enough, you damn useless old man!" Portia snarled as she emptied the clip into him. As the blood ran, the guards did not even blink. They knew. Portia took a moment to let the fire cool out of her lungs as the empty, smoking magazine hit the ground. The two black uniformed officers approached her and she turned away from them...then turned back once she'd calmed down. While she had every intention to carry out Morales' orders, she still felt the adrenaline in her.

"Take him and toss it in the river, and inform General Morales that I have the perfect candidate to replace Rossi." said Portia.

**_Basra_****_, Versua_**

**_December 21, 2016_**

**_0800 hrs_**

Rue Daydenko did the same thing she did every morning. She came and started at the rising sun alone. It was much better than yesterday as she had to stay indoors because of that damnable sandstorm. But now the day's morning was anew. The morning was always the most beautiful time of day to Rue. It was too easy to like the sunset. In Basra, the sun was always its most pretty at the rising day. The morning air smelled like a flower's scent to her lungs. But this time, she brought her son, Gio, to the view. She wanted him to see this. But it wasn't just for his enrichment. She was waiting for the liberators to come.

"What are you looking at mother?" he asked. Gio was almost a carbon copy of his father. He was a beautiful child and had the same gregarious nature Rue's husband did.

"The sun. It's beautiful isn't it? But, I'm also waiting for a lot of people." she said to Gio. He just lit up.

"Who?" he asked, with a look of worry.

"The Allies are coming. They're coming to this town. Their coming to save us." she said quietly to him.

"They are?" Gio asked, but he did not smile. Gio knew little about war or its concept. However, Rue simply smiled back at him.

"Yes. And when they get here...we're going to be free. You'll be free to do or be whatever you want to do or be." she said right to his face. Then, he shocked her with the next question. Apparently, this child was more aware of the dark side of life than Rue thought. Or maybe she forgot for the moment...

"Are we going to die?" he asked with a serious look on his face.

"No. You and your father and I are going to be fine. I'm going to make sure of that." said Rue. Rue left unsaid that a lot of other people probably were going to die. But Rue and the others in the resistance planned their own surprises for their oppressors.

"We're going to be free. And that's worth more than anything we or anyone else could have." she said, kissing her son on the forehead. She smiled at her words though. She was going to welcome the Allies with open arms. The anticipation was enough to make her jump up and down. For years, she lived a nightmare even after she left the corrupt Orchid Division. But now there was only happiness. She could almost hear the jets in the distance. It was almost as if she knew that Kei and David and Lillian and Wardog were being reunited as they spoke, tears in their eyes, black mascara spraying everywhere. For the Allies, everything was going right. However, it would not be the case with a certain group called Mephisto Squadron...

Next: Chapter 17: The Liberation of Basra


	17. The Liberation of Basra

Chapter 17: The Liberation of Basra

"_A crooked peace officer is just a damned abomination. That's all you can say about it. He's ten times worse than the criminal." - Excerpt from "No Country for Old Men"_

**_Vastos, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_0700 hrs_**

Kei Nagase couldn't tell if this weapon systems operation, this Lt. Sebastian Navarro, was a bit prickly at first...or if he just hated waiting. Kei took the better part of three days recovering from her injuries that bastard Lashus inflicted on her. Lucien had grilled her and Lillian on what both women experienced. As David knew, that man aboard the chopper was indeed George Mason Clarke, one who'd infiltrated the main Versuan resistance group: Southern Alliance. Kei originally thought this Looking Glass character was the brainchild of the resistance...but that was not the case. They had several leaders; the Looking Glass was only in charge of this particular area of the country.

For the first time since the idea came into her mind, Kei Nagase was not worried about turning thirty. She didn't change much physically from twenty to thirty with the exception of her much longer hair. But her attitude had significantly. Back when she was twenty three, she had a hopelessly optimistic outlook on life. But now, six years later, she only thought of how foolish that feeling was. Because the enemy was not going away; on the contrary, now they were coming in droves. However, despite Kei knowing that the enemy was becoming desperate, she was feeling good about this upcoming battle. It had been ages since she felt good about any battle.

And yet, it seemed so strange; as foolish as she was once before, there was still the pangs of her old self that questioned what she was doing. Then there pangs of sheer hate pushing her as well; the hate for the enemy and the little pity she had slowly evaporating.

Kei was still happy to be back with the people she cared about. She loved the heroes' welcome she received and the long loving embrace she got from the man formerly known as Blaze. That was as good a gift anyone could give.

After Kei had recovered, Lucien had already sent for replacement planes for the pair. Lillian received a spare Block-60 F-16C, which was a ubiquitous airplane in the Osean Air Force. Kei received, of all choices, and F-14. And that was why this Navarro was here. Navarro was actually the backseater for an F-14 driver who died during the skirmish in the Ceres Ocean. His carrier went under, taking most of the crew with him. Thus, he was plucked from the Kestrel II. Perhaps his reluctance with regular Air Force was the reason he was being distant.

Kei had flown the Super Tomcat only twice during the last war. But, these days, if one can fly one plane...they could fly them all. It was all due to the former President Harling's "strip down plan" of making most previous generation planes somewhat...stock in their design. The skill was in flying the plane effectively, rather than manipulating the controls. Kei flew it around yesterday with ease...and just as well. The Allies were about to storm into Basra with the liberating flag.

"Sorry about keeping you...got held up." said Kei, tugging at her flight suit. She was scheduled for one more tune up before the briefing.

"That's okay. So, what are we doing today...?" said Navarro. As he said that...Navarro started looking strange. His eyes were looking at something behind her, but before he could speak...

Kei was about to respond...when she heard a familiar voice.

"Think fast!" the voice shouted.

"What the?" Kei said turning around.

Kei felt something rather squishy hit her in the face. She also felt something cold and wet along her back. She recoiled in a rather humorous fashion, fully aware of what had just occurred. Behind her were Andrew Fisch, Polly Elbe, Grimm and David. David was holding some kind of a plastic plate, while Fisch and Elbe were holding empty wine bottles. It was a tradition as old as the Osean Air Force was. The "birthday soaking tradition" involved one pilot smashing cake into the lucky man or woman's face as well as other pouring alcohol on her. In this case, they'd gone with Vat 79 whiskey and white frosted pound cake. Grimm took a rather embarrassing photo of her, and he simply laughed his ass off. Kei wiped some of it off and put it in her mouth...and it was best cake she ever had.

"You...! I swear to God..." Kei said while smiling.

"Hey, you deserve it birthday girl!" Polly said in her northern accent. Kei secretly hoped that Polly didn't want to make out with her like Lillian did in the helicopter days ago.

"You're thirty; you are an ancient Ava!" Grimm said, again playing the role of Elliot Preston.

"Okay, let me go get cleaned off. We'll save the party for tonight." Kei said, laughing and dusting some of the cake off of her.

Kei laughed and smiled with the others. She wasn't sure when it happened, but the people in Wardog were becoming more like a family by the day. It was such a contrast from days ago as she was brutally tortured by that nutcase Lashus. But this camaraderie wiped the bitter, hateful taste of that incident away. They mourned the losses of Paulo and Michael...but they still kept their spirits high for this day. Indeed, Wardog was truly becoming a family and the toxic losses of the past were creating a lot of trust.

**_Zula, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_0800 hrs_**

However, far away...the family of Mephisto Squadron was eroding. At first, it was only slow erosion. But now trust was fading fast. Now Baraka Molina was trying to avoid the full dam burst. If the squadron's trust and confidence evaporated now, if the squadron were to collapse the blow would be the coup de grace to the Air Force's morale. It was bad enough Anapola had now fallen...and to add insult to injury, the Osean aces _weren't even involved _in the destruction of that fortress. Not even Dispater helped, even though the brass finally figured out a way to shoot its bolts of death on a horizontal plane as not to endanger friendly troops or civilian lives. Those aces had been pulled off the line and fresher, hungrier squadrons filled in, not intimidated by the imposing mountain fortress. They blitzed it with the perfect weapon to attack Anapola: the new Osean M90 JDAM based-"Super Bunker Buster".

But even more humiliating was the fact that the Deceiver woman who'd been captured _escaped._ It was a point that Xalia pointed out, in between the morale damaging and relationship crippling arguments they had on a daily basis. After all, the resistance had a hand in that escape and they also were the ones who had forced Xalia's little sister into more heavily armed escorts. But it was that battle that proved, to the pilots at least, that the Allies were becoming proficient in their battle plans. The Versuans held the advantage of battle experience once...no more. Now momentum had swung in the Allies' favor, and it was clear any Versuan victory would have terrible cost.

There had been little time to grieve for Iga Orace, a classy man and an excellent pilot. The war was too close to home for that. The enemies were inside their home and were knocking the doorstep of Basra. To make things worse, Alex Haari was found...but injured and in no shape to fly, last Baraka checked. The speed of the Allies' advance had made any rescue precarious at best. Mephisto quickly tried to patch things up by rotating in replacements to fill in for the fallen Iga Orace and the hobbled Alex Haari...but those were not effective. That was what Molina would say to the brass...but the reality was this: it was downright disastrous.

In three days, they went through three pilots. Cozo, Moras, and Danton, were shot down on their first sorties. It was even worse for Bel. The reserves went down in twos. Intelligence had indicated the Deceivers may have had a hand in it. They had eliminated several members of Bel, Mephisto and Pharon. Perhaps the Allies knew exactly to who to target. Baraka had been against that, but High Command's orders and all that got in the way. Baraka had to find a way to stop the in-fighting, a sizable portion of the aforementioned chaos was of his doing. He and Xalia were getting into shouting matches.

Baraka Molina knew, as everyone else did, that Basra was their chance to make a decisive stop. It could increase morale and maybe they could force the Allies into a peace settlement. The Allies were not entirely stocked. They'd taken heavy casualties in their battles in Northern Verusa. But the way they simply rolled over the North despite their losses, indicating a bend-don't-break mentality, meant that only a crippling loss could stop them.

Baraka had to find a way to stop the bleeding; he admitted that a sizable portion of the drama was of his doing.

Facing the rancor, Baraka Molina did what good leaders did in times of crisis. He requested everyone in Mephisto, their ground crews, even the members of the regular squadrons that were with them, even Bel and Pharon, to listen to his words. If he was going to motivate them...he had to put his reputation on the line. He held his impromptu motivational address in the largest hangar on the base they were at. Their faces were long, despair could be seen. Many of the regular air force guys had taken heavy losses. Friends had lost friends, brothers and sisters had been lost...

"Ladies and gentleman, we face a crisis like no other we've been through." Baraka said in a loud, firm voice.

"Our enemies are north of us and they seek to 'liberate' Basra from us. Liberate? Basra was a city torn apart by civil war. Tribes fought tribes and people died for no reason. They say we're torturers and slave drivers...a ruthless people. Why? Because we grew up less fortunate than them? Because this land was overrun with criminals and terrorists! Regardless of why we fought to the north, this is our task." continued Baraka.

He then began to pace back and forth.

"Forget that time; forget why we went north. The enemy is in our house. They seek to steal away our natural resources and take advantage of us as they did in the past! And no one will judge them because they will have won! Forget about the Tower; forget about what you've lost. Think about what you have _now_. Protect _that_. Vastos was a setback, Anapola was a bad day...but to lose this city would be a greater disaster. Our seat of government, our beautiful cities to the south and our symbols of loyalty...it all will be in danger." Baraka said, making his voice even firmer.

"I know you younger ones, you rookies, you lesser pilots all...are afraid of our enemies. They are strong, pompous and have the whole world against us. They are led by an arrogant President, this Mary Cohen, a leader of an empire that drains the countries of the world dry…even their own allies." said Baraka, getting closer to the group.

"Ah, yes...you fear the Deceivers. They are not immortal. They can be destroyed." said Baraka. Suddenly, Sodel tapped his shoulder and offered his own speech.

"They feared us once! When we attacked into the North, they fled! They were scared of us. We brought the wrath of God down on them…but the Devil fought back. As God's creations...we _can...not...let that happen_. Let's show them why they feared us in the first place! They wanted to keep us divided because they were afraid of the power that God gave us. Let us use that power to drive them from our land and show them that we are the righteous hammer of God and that hammer is coming down on them! We shall make their wives widows! Their blood will rain down from the skies...!" said Sodel Josen in a maniacal fervor. Baraka cut him off.

"Umm...Sodel...that was taking a bit too far..." said Baraka quietly as he turned to Sodel.

He then turned back to his audience.

"Let's do what we swore to do. Let's go out there and win. For our homes, our families...let's win one for them." said Baraka.

A wave of emotion filled the room as everyone rose and everyone began to shout hosannas for Baraka's speeches. Even Xalia; Xalia had detested being around this man for days as he blew everything out of proportion. But this crisis had galvanized them Xalia smiled as everyone began to cheer and clap their hands and chant the same words over and over.

"Abara Vivo Masson! Abara Vivo Masson! Abara Vivo Masson!" they all chanted. Long live Masson they said. Suddenly, all the bitterness was forgotten for a mere moment. Xalia even walked over and put her arms around Baraka. For a mere moment...Baraka Molina knew things were going to be okay. It was going to be hard-fought, but he now believed Basra could be won.

There was just one..._tiny_ problem. Wars were decided by men and women on the battlefield..._not_ in motivational speeches. Because what Baraka failed to realize, and subsequently was also unable to inform the others, was that Basra _hated_ the White Crow. Almost no one in Basra was going to be behind these men and women in the air.

**_Basra_****_, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_0800 hrs_**

The first salvos between the angry citizens of Basra and the White Crow were already being fired. The Versuan military had been setting up defensive positions in and around the town for the past five days. Basra had loathed the White Crow, just as Disra. Basra and Disra's population was filled with hard working people who didn't appreciate the staggering taxes levied upon them to feed the Versuan war machine. Not to mention the stories of people being snatched and blinded with black bags...never to be seen again. Not to mention people being forced to work in inhumane conditions and could be imprisoned for even having a harmless, but negative comment against the White Crow...among other offenses.

Rue Daydenko was hiding on the warm rooftop in a small tool shed that was near the edge of her apartment building. She didn't want to get spotted by the helicopter patrols. She had realized the reality of life around her and she decided to help fight back. These people had been afraid once before. Their anger meant nothing as they could not fight back. The elimination of the original resistance in Basra was downright ruthless. There was no one that could help them.

Rue had heard though the grapevine that Rory Lashus was dead. Rory had done some terrible things in his life and he had it coming to him. Like Dorian before him, Rue cared not Lashus was gone. It was another weight off of her shoulders.

She also heard that the Allies were attacking sometime today. This was crucial news. Anxiety and anticipation had reached a fever pitch in the town. But that also brought violence. In the morning air, the smoke was already in the sky. Rue couldn't see what was going on, but it was clear it was time for the fireworks to begin. It was amazing how easy the Southern Alliance could maneuver in Basra. But like most closely knit communities, it was no surprise.

Rue knew the people of Basra had been screwed over for fifteen years and now was their chance for revenge. Rue knew that she had, in fact, contributed to the screw-job back when she was in Orchid; but those days were gone. But, the actions of the Army only served to make the people angrier.

Soma had come by and given her and everyone in the resistance green smoke canisters. These canisters were homemade smoke devices that lingered in the air for a lengthy amount of time. The idea was they could alert the Allies to civilian heavy areas since they would be fighting above the city and since the air force would no doubt be hesitant to drop any planes on Basra.

But why would this necessary? The Allies had advanced technology. Rue heard the Allies could bomb targets via satellite coordinates. They had bombs that could use infrared or lasers to guide them. The truth was more appalling. Rue knew the city had been under martial law for weeks, but she was appalled to learn that no one could evacuate the city. The 1st and 5th Army Commanders, Crixus and Massio, had issued the order days ago. Crixus was repeating the same strategy he did in the Moab Madra. The only difference was that this time, he could force the Allies into a much narrower area than the desert. He would make the city a battleground and if the Allies wanted to challenge him they would have to battle his army in the streets...and risk civilian deaths.

This was unacceptable. The Allies knew all too well the consequences of urban warfare.

But with military crawling around the city, Rue had to be careful not to get spotted. Every so often, she'd peek out for any signs of the Allies. The only problem was that Resistance members had jumped the gun and were fighting the Army now. So Rue decided to wait until she saw the first green smoke go off.

"I must say this is very exciting." said Carmone. Carmone was kind, soft-spoken gentleman who did not know many of Rue's secrets, but he generally handled himself well. He was a respectful man who simply did not fly off the handle like most Versuan men tended to do.

"I know. But...we just have to make sure they win." replied Rue, speaking of the Allies.

Rue smiled. She was going to witness something she'd never see again. She was witnessing yet another great change of the times in this vast land. But this time, it would a change for the better...she hoped.

**_Vastos, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_0830 hrs_**

David appreciated the time off for a change. For the first time in his flying career, he could relax and let the regulars handle it; and they handled Anapola but good. Fresh squadrons hungry for battle fought the Versuans over Anapola in bitter two day battle. But the Anapola line collapsed overnight. It was a gritty, old-fashioned air assault that more about will than tactics. If Lucien Jackson believed the Versuans thought Basra could be written off...their countrymen did not show it.

It left him plenty of time to brood over what happened to Kei. When she returned and the details began to come out...there was the sense of absolute indignant anger. But when she told him that the man who tortured her for information was dead...it cooled down his rage. Grimm was equally appalled. It was a terrible thing to have to go through this type of a situation twice in two wars. But both Grimm and David agreed that this type of enemy was much more ruthless, brutal, and inhumane than the Belkans, Erusans, or the Yukes. There was no feeling of trust to the enemy. There were probably good people in their service; noble, honorable soldiers who were fighting for their homeland as they were thrown into this war with no warning. But, it didn't matter.

David had to keep his personal priorities in order. Despite all this, despite his words, it was becoming harder and harder to keep his word to Kei. But the greater part, David knew that the same kind of person who would torture a person senselessly probably littered the Versuan's High Command. After all, they were the ones who tested the Dispater...and speaking of which, that weapon had become more active as of late. At least their new usage was not putting their own civilians in harm's way. David supposed he had to give the Versuans _some_ credit.

The entire squadron had been gathered, along with a ton of other pilots. Vastos had become a central hub for Allied Air activity in the area. They were surrounded by a mix of Osean and other Allied flight personnel. It was the largest briefing that he'd ever been too. When he was Blaze, the briefings usually never had more than a dozen people there. Now there were several dozen. But that wasn't what was on David's mind at the time...

"So let me get this straight...you're betting the first half lines of football games?" said David.

"Yeah. It's kind of cool." said Andrew.

"Are you kidding me? Where would you go to find out important information on _first half _lines?" said David.

"I think the term _degenerate gambler_ doesn't even apply to you any more Andrew. You need a new word for your level of betting obsession." said Kei.

"This is the biggest meeting I've been to since our Red Flag training." said Polly.

"What's with all the brass and all these regular guys?" said Lillian, "Is Basra that important?"

"Don't know. Maybe..." began Cormorance.

Just as Cormorance said that, a rather thick line of Allied Brass entered the room. As usual, the pilots and personnel stood at attention. Now David knew this was going to be a pressure cooker situation. David, Grimm and Kei all recognized the man who was giving the briefing. It was one General Chance, a fiery, spirited man who had actually once presided over McNealy Air Force Base.

"Be seated. As you all know, we've made our final preparations for Operation Antares. This city is called Basra. Basra has over five million ticked off people who can't wait for us to charge into that city and free them from these White Crow bastards. These people have been treated like dirt for years. They've had chemical and biological weapons used against them, people being kidnapped and put into prison for no reason, authorities raping women and kids...a list of offenses stretching back a decade and a half." said the General. "We're going to end this the day before yesterday! But there's one major problem."

The screen in the auditorium then displayed a large map of the city. By now, most of the pilots in the room could read the maps for what they represented. Lillian gasped at what she saw. The enemy had done the same thing they did in the desert! All their formations and tanks were arrayed around civilian heavy areas. They were concentrated in specific areas, unlike wars in the past where main roads, highways, major landmarks were defended heavily. The Versuans seemed to have a habit of doing this.

"Oh no..." Lillian said to herself.

"The White Crow think so lowly of their own people, their doing the same thing the did in the Desert; use their own civilians as human shields against bombing! They didn't even order an evacuation. They've got SAM sites all over the place, plus AAA, tanks in the streets." said another officer.

"High Command and the Madam President, for obvious reasons, wish to avoid an urban war scenario...but in this case, we've got little choice. We've got to pick this city's defenses apart piece by piece. There are five areas we need to cover. West, East, North, South, and Central." said a third officer pointing at the areas of the city.

"We're dividing all of you into five Flights. Alpha, Beta, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. All flights will terminate as many enemy forces on the ground and in the air as possible. We've got three armored divisions of all nationalities invading the city. Ferdelance, Isis, and Samizar. In addition, you'll have to provide cover to those units. The resistance is very concerned about civilian casualties and rightly so. They've coordinated their people to pop green smoke in civilian heavy areas. But, given the circumstances of the battle, we can only avoid them if we can...and that's a big if. Do whatever it takes to lure enemy planes outside the city limits." said the second officer.

David looked smug at that statement. As if he didn't already know that...

"Any questions? No? Let's move out then. We're going to be heroes people." said the General, not even pausing for a moment. As everyone began to leave, Cormorance felt nothing but scorn.

_Heroes_, thought Cormorance. _Why now? We're killers, not heroes. What could they see in us? The Versuans hate us. _Cormorance was now the de-facto leader of Wardog with the loss of Paulo.

"Let's do this one right and go home. And this time, we're _all_ coming back alive." said Grimm.

"Yeah, we got to drink tonight! Celebrate our impending victory over evil...and Ava turning thirty, but that's beside the point..." said Polly.

"The drinking's the best part..." said Andrew.

Kei shrugged it off. She felt fresh though; she felt vigorous. Maybe it was that shower she had to take to get all that alcohol she and Andrew poured on her.

"You'd find just about any reason to get boozed up, Polly. Me, I got a date with those Red planes." said Cormorance. David stared him.

"You're not the only one..." said David.

**_Over Basra, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_1340 hrs_**

It didn't matter to David Lovecraft that he was stuck in Alpha group. It didn't matter at all. What mattered was that there was an enemy out there, a city that needed to be freed and one more obstacle on the way to destroying that infernal Dispater super weapon. Kei was having a ball flying that Super Tomcat. Kei flew it with that Lt. Navarro in the back. He was doing fine, though he wasn't used to Kei's now newly developed aggressive flying style. She felt like Captain Snow in this plane.

_Snow..._

Kei couldn't shrug it off. She couldn't shed any tears now. She had a mission to do and she was going to finish it. Sure it was her special day...but none of that mattered at the moment. Cormorance certainly didn't think about it. He had wasted no time going to work. Mephisto quickly realized how quick life ended in the air. He wasted the four reserve pilots between Mephisto and Bel in a few minutes. He was cold as ice and perfect with his kills. Kei liked Alou because of his ability to quickly forget about an issue and go on. If he was in the Razgriz all those years ago, she thought.

Meanwhile, Baraka Molina was stunned. Again, the reserve pilots were the first to die. The Allies specifically went after the rookie and less experienced pilots. Of course, since some of them were trained by Osea...they knew the Oseans knew their own methods of flying. They knew to target the "Blue Four", the rookie, in the formation. Though in Mephisto's case...it was "Red Four".

"That bastard is merely hunting the weak." said Baraka with a scowl. Baraka was insulted at this man for building his kill record on the lesser pilots. But Cormorance Alou didn't care.

Kei and David were now looking forward to trying out their new strategy. It was sort of unoriginal; a plan set up at the last minute, but it was about to work out to their favor. David was about to put into practice. David flew near Kei; the dynamics were a bit weird between the Hornet and the Super Tomcat.

"Okay, here I go!" David said.

Medusa and Dragon broke off with Medusa flying farther away. David saw a group of enemy planes and he flew fearlessly right into them. Just as the others began to follow, they found themselves evading long range missiles. Two hit, one missed, but the result was achieved. Medusa turned away and saw another pack of enemies.

"Ha! That worked perfectly! Let's get them again! You're turn to lead now." David said.

"Wilco. Let me find...ah! There! 101. Four on the nose...take them." said Kei. Kei found her pack and began to fly for it.

"This is tactically unsound but..." said Navarro. But Kei quickly retorted.

"Just pipe down! We're going for it!" she said. She flew crazily into a group of planes, some of which gave chase. Once again, David found the enemy and began to pick them off one by one. Apparently the enemy was so concerned with Wardog, they kind forgot about the trees from the forest.

"This is like shooting fish in a barrel!" David said.

For the first time in her flying career...Kei Nagase was actually having fun. She started laughing and having a ball. She forgot about all the people dying around her. She was just...having a good time up there in the sky. But the good times did not last long.

But Baraka was not having fun at all. He'd lost two pilots in a few minutes. It was absolutely stunning. But he couldn't let it get to him. He forced himself to concentrate on the situation. They had a city to defend; the battle was not over yet. Baraka was not fooled by the tactic once he saw it in action. The old chase and follow...it was amazing people still fell for it. But it only brought up the desperate situation the Versuans were in.

"That plane there...is that one of them?!" shouted Laserth, as he spotted the Super Tomcat.

"It's got to be! It's playing tag with the central plane!" said Xalia.

"I'll take the lead, you two go after the F-14." said Baraka.

"On the way!" said Laserth.

Laserth decided to send the house of his entire flight. He felt it would easy money to take down a single, stick-like maneuvering F-14D. Commander Molina was all over the lead Deceiver, but this one turned almost in reaction to the very _order_ to engage her. She was some 11,000 feet over the city, and she was moving to engage them. But one against four was not good odds. Laserth felt comfortable leading the charge. He knew he could win. He guaranteed it to himself.

He always believed that if you believed you could do something...you were bound to succeed. However...it didn't take long for a certain pilot named Kei Nagase to disabuse him of that notion. It was so quick that Mephisto Six couldn't even react to it immediately. He should have never bet against the ex-Razgriz. It was the last thing he ever bet in the living world.

It looked like a strange yo-yo maneuver from afar. Kei had increased her speed and performed a kind of nose-low Immelmann turn. She was beneath the Red plane now. As expected, Mephisto Five followed with a turn of his own. However, despite the maneuverability of his airplane...he was not expecting her to come up at the exact opposing angle he did! He didn't even have time to react. Whoever this pilot was...he or she was damn good. That was because she came in at a sharper angle, firing her Vulcan cannon. It was a lucky shot really...but it was the last thing Roni Laserth saw. The Vulcan rounds tore apart the cockpit glass...and Laserth inside.

"Six! Six! Respond!" said Molina in a desperate voice. But he was nowhere to be found. He was gone.

Mephisto One was not about to feel any heartbreak yet. He was going to save the heartbreak for later. He'd been a damn good pilot...and these Osean pilots were going to have to pay for his loss. He wanted their leader on a pike. He wanted him vaporized...no ejection. He ignored Xalia's calls for help...and hunted for this ace...his sworn enemy.

He flew through mess of planes, missiles and flak and for a brief moment, he'd made eye contact with his sworn arch-rival. Baraka gave chase...

Meanwhile...Sodel Josen was having his own problems. He was tied up with several of the Deceivers before he had to turn to regroup. He spotted them over the western edge of town. One man was trying to dive down on a group of regular planes.

"There it is! He's trying to drag us low!" said one of the Bel planes.

"Four, five...go after him. The rest will maintain our defensive stance here." ordered Sodel Josen.

"Roger that!" said the ordered Bel squad members.

Andrew Fisch was fighting hard. Though he would rather be betting on games, Fisch hadn't really thought a lot about the war except the reason he was here. He was only here because this squadron gave him a second chance. He was now elite and everyone respected him. And to think Vega actually kicked him out for some...shady dealings but that was beside the point. Now he was an ace in a company of elite pilots. But he wasn't interested in the Red planes...he was more concerned with the Yellow Hornets who had him locked up.

Flak was beginning to pour around him as he descended down into the western edge of the city. He was flying into what appeared to be some kind of old oil refinery. Andrew dove low into the plant hoping the explosions and smoke there would mask him. But then, as he approached the ground, he had an idea. He started to shoot at one of the massive tanks with his machine gun. Soon, it triggered a massive series of explosions as Andrew dove beneath an obstacle, like he'd practiced in those simulators. He turned on the afterburners and turned out like a bar of soap.

The Bel planes were nowhere to be seen.

"Hell yeah! Score two for me!" said Andrew in jubilation.

"Fisch, you didn't shoot them down! They don't count!" Cormorance said.

"This is Scion to all planes. The first of the ground units are starting to enter the town."

"Roger that." Cormorance said.

"Maintain air superiority until they reach the center." the AWACS continued.

Kei and David didn't realize it about the other, but they both smiled at the current situation. The tanks and infantry were approaching from the north and with no ground troops to defend in the west, they could focus on fighting in the air. It was something they were extremely good at...and the Versuans should have known better than to challenge Wardog in the air.

**_Basra_****_, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_1340 hrs_**

Rue heard the first jets overhead. As a precaution, the resistance and other members of the community had suggested that everyone use ear plugs to drown out the jet noise. Rue carefully exited the shack on her roof, her husband in tow. They both took their bottles of smoke and readied them. Rue looked frantically to the sky, and saw nothing but contrails. In the distance in her peripheral, contrails from surface to air missiles were already streaking for the sky. The ground rumbled as the heavens were torn asunder from the massive jet noise and the vibrations they produced. The planes were in some kind of aerial dance. Rue could not tear her eyes away from it. Suddenly, the first of the green flares went off. Rue didn't see it, but Carmone did. He ran over to her, tapping her on the shoulder on the account she could not hear because of the ear plugs.

With a smile and a serious facial expression in a strange simultaneous look, she popped the green smoke canister in her hand. She threw to the ground and Carmone did the same. As the smoke began to pour out, both of them quickly ran inside as explosions began to rock the city in the distance.

It took awhile to run back down the stairs and into the basement as the ground shook all around them. In the basement were several children and their parents covering their ears, and there was Nikko who was keeping watch over Rue and Carmone's son.

"What's it like up there?" asked Nikko.

"Well, it's hard to say...but it seems to be going pretty good so far. Let's hope they keep it up." said Rue.

Another close roar of airborne jet engines forced the pair to put back on their earplugs.

Meanwhile, Carlo Tenenbaum was looking anxiously over the city before him. The Looking Glass, as well as Soma and a few of the other resistance leaders were overlooking the city on the extreme east side of Basra. They'd been preparing for weeks for this very occasion...now it was finally within their grasp. There were plumes of smoke in the distance, but each one signaled some kind of hope for the people in the penthouse twelve floors above the streets below. Soma, the elder member, finished a conversation with another resistance solder and walked over to Tenenbaum with a smile on his face.

"Sir...everything is ready." Soma said. That meant that all of the "presents" were in place.

"Good, the Allied planes are already here and another wave of Masson's planes will be on the way after the first are worn down: we will be ready for the second wave." said Soma. Carlo clasped his hands together.

"Alright...ladies and gentleman, you know what to do!" said the Looking Glass.

Suddenly, several of the resistance members began to run out of the room. All around the city, trucks were secretly moving, camouflage tarps were being pulled back, heavy equipment was being towed up stairs...a million pieces were being moved all around the city and the Versuan military was none the wiser. The Looking Glass then eyed a pair of vivacious women on the laptop computers as they typed commands into the terminals. They were the lynchpin of the entire plan.

"How long?" asked The Looking Glass. The tan, brown haired woman on the second laptop turned to Tenenbaum with a demure expression.

"We'll be inside their system in ten minutes. If the Allies don't destroy the radar before we can launch...we'll be fine." said the woman at the computer.

"Excellent. We're right on schedule. Let the games begin." said Soma said, on looking. Another roar of jet engines could be heard above. Some of the aides covered their ears, especially the teenagers who did most of the errands. Tenenbaum merely shook his head and smiled.

**_Over Basra, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_1400 hrs_**

Hans Grimm hadn't fought above a city in years. Not to mention a big city like this. This place was much larger than November City. Grimm wondered about what life down there was like. However, he couldn't forget why he was here...and it wasn't to liberate this city. It was just an obstacle. It didn't help that Grimm thought the Versuan people were wishy-washy about the Osean involvement. Versuans traditionally didn't like the Oseans. So unless these people really had been treated with brutality...there was no reason for it. Grimm didn't buy the spiel about the atrocities he'd been told about.

Of course, the last time he checked the Versuans were quite apt at dispensing atrocities of their own. Lauren Weiss could bear witness to that.

So that made Grimm bagging his third kill a bit sweeter. The anger boiled in him. By now, the battle in the air had been joined in full. But now, caution had been thrown to the wind as the Versuans were not about to let the Oseans get into open space. However, the Allied pilots fought harder, fighting with skill and passion. They were driving the Versuans back. The Allied ground forces were pouring into the city.

Grimm had always wondered about the planes that hit the ground. He only hoped that no one was down there to suffer the hit. That was the only worry when they were in November City. He hoped things would go smoother than that battle did six years ago. Then there was the death of Captain Davenport.

_Chopper..._

Grimm couldn't stop thinking about that up until now. That was because he could afford to do that. But Grimm had no choice but to put it out of his head and fight on. Just as well, because he was soon going to be needed. David was still being chased by the Red plane...but then...something occurred over the radio. It was something being broadcast. It sounded like a large crowd of people chanting the same thing over and over.

_Dasave Murete Devio_! _Dasave Murete Devio_! _Dasave Murete Devio_!

"What the hell are they saying!?" Grimm asked.

"I don't know!" replied Kei.

"It's Old Versuan for..._Go dance with Satan_ or something of that effect." said Lillian.

Grimm finally got out his tangle with the enemy and saw the Red plane bearing down on Blaze. He couldn't have that...

"Hang on!" he shouted.

Baraka had a good angle on the lead. The others had the Deceivers tied up...at least he hoped. The plane of Grimm dove down fast on Mephisto. Xalia had formed up, but she only saw him at the last second. Grimm fired his missile but Mephisto One would not be denied. He only popped a few flares, juked left and quickly got back into his angle of attack. At this point, David jumped up high...not a smart move.

"You bastard! You're going to pay for Roni!" said Baraka over the airwaves. Suddenly, he got the buzzing noise of the missile lock. Finally!

"_Sierra Hotel_! I've got you now!" Baraka shouted. But perhaps that was...a bit premature because when he pressed the trigger...nothing. Again...nothing. Then the alert came up. Baraka was about to tear his hair out.

"What the...?! My missiles! I can't fire at all! What in God's name?" he said in a panic. He had to do it...he had to avenge his friend's honor and death. Baraka Molina had to do it. So it was surprising that Xalia would move in, heaven forbidding she'd fulfill her job as a _wingman_.

"I'll take the shot!" she said. Now Baraka was almost insulted...and he repeated a terrible mistake. He let pride get in the way.

"No...I've got to do it! He's mine!" said Baraka. Xalia thought he was insane.

"You can't do any good from your position! Stop being so stubborn!" she shouted, finally taking him to task.

"Damn you..." he said quietly, but obviously not silently.

Xalia was shocked. She didn't even respond; she merely fumed on the inside. Suddenly, she found herself wishing she could go back in time and not even see Baraka. She would have much preferred to have been with Kaida. Even though they shared a mostly physical relationship, Kaida never acted as if he had something to prove. He never acted as if he was better than Xalia. She liked that he was respectful, even for a playboy like Ammon.

But Baraka had built this wall around him with this damned enemy ace. It was almost as if this man was all that mattered to Baraka now. Xalia truly wanted Molina to kill this ace because he was destroying not only their air force, but he was tearing apart a perfectly romance. At least, it should have been...

But Xalia relented...only because most of it was Baraka's doing. For the first time in the war, she was beginning to lose her will to fight. In the city below, the people were in the streets protesting and fighting with the army. They were tired of the White Crow and all their empty promises. And what was Baraka concerned about...one pilot. Now that obsession had torn Mephisto apart. Xalia had lost her interest in this war...and even more so in Baraka. He didn't even care that she wasn't keeping up. He was still going after this one pilot.

They danced around the sky, Baraka with only his machine guns. But he was confident that he could win. Xalia could only think sarcastically that if he could just win that battle...everything would be alright. Because the war _really_ depended on this one pilot; because they _really_ lost Anapola because of this man (who wasn't even at Anapola, one might add). Because _all_ the disasters of the war were the fault of this lead pilot; _he did it all_. Xalia wanted to throw up at this very thought process. Suddenly, a voice was heard...a familiar voice.

"There they are! Let's flush out the Allies!" said that voice. Baraka knew who it was...almost.

"What...who? Is that...Alex?!" he asked himself.

Mephisto One looked in the distance and saw a whole group of planes approaching. They filled the radar screen. For the first time in a long time, Molina smiled.

"Mephisto One! It's me! Did you miss me?" said the arrogant voice of Alex Haari. Suddenly, all the bad blood between Alex and Baraka faded away...if but for one battle.

"Where? How did..." Xalia began.

"Kaida and I busted out of the hospital. Well, I did..." Alex began.

"No, I just came back from Valuria. My wife is going to be ticked off I left a note and hobbled to the base...but we've brought the cavalry!" said Kaida, having "borrowed" a Su-33 of his own.

"Thank God, something's gone right today!" said Baraka.

Baraka smiled. All the desperate Versuans smiled. Now they could win...but the fact was: neither Kaida nor Alex nor anyone else for that matter, realized just how _bad_ the timing was. It could not have been worse. Because the Looking Glass was about to turn loose his secret weapon. The east and north areas had been ravaged by SAM sites placed strategically around civilian areas. But the resistance had air defenses of their own...and they were just about to release them on their enemies.

The Looking Glass was still inside the command post in some warehouse. He was keeping tabs on the two technicians who were manipulating the computer keys, working their magic. He paced back and forth. He didn't mind waiting. He never minded waiting. When he was an assassin for the White Crow, patience was everything. Soon enough, one of the females raised her hands in jubilation.

"Huzzah! Sir...we've done it! We're inside. We've changed the protocols." said the technician.

"Alright...prepare to fire!" said the Looking Glass over a small CB radio.

And with that action...a mass panic gripped the ground forces as their own SAM sites began to turn on them. Suddenly, the resistance unveiled their own SAMs, cleverly hidden in buildings all around. The plan was to connect the rogue sites to the main network, with some help from a group of dissatisfied former soldiers of the White Crow. Once they were connected...they'd all turn on the Versuan jets. The rather light, portable radar-infrared sites were a gracious gift from the Osean Federation's CIA.

As one...they all fired at the Versuan air armada above. Alex and Kaida's cavalry...suddenly became only lambs to the slaughter. The ultimate tragedy of it was that the missiles didn't even show up on the warning screen. That was the beauty of it. They wouldn't cause a missile alert because of the careful programming done by those beautiful computer aides. Considering that the entire military of Versua was ground-controlled anyway...it wasn't that much of a problem.

Kaida had noticed it...but it was too late. He was absolutely stunned when he saw hundreds of contrails...heading, not to the Allies' side...but his own contingent!

"This is Scion...we've got multiple SAMs but...wait a minute...what the hell is going on here?!" said the AWACS.

"Holy God! Are those our own SAMs!" Kaida shouted. He looked and saw what looked like hundreds of contrails zeroed onto the flight of friendly planes. "Get out of here! Fall back!" Most of the Oseans couldn't hear it, but the screams of death and chaos. would have been music to the ears of the Allies. For the Verusans, it was an disaster of almost biblical proportions as one plane after the other was taken down by a bizarre form of fratricide.

Versuan planes began to fall like dominos by the sudden betrayal of their own trusted systems. Kaida was luckier than most. He only received a slight hit that was enough to nearly tear off his wing. He couldn't believe what had just happened. There was no warning...no time to react. Kaida just got lucky again.

Alex Haari wasn't so lucky. He was the unluckiest. He was a bit closer to the ground and he was the first to die. Just like that...Alex was gone for good. It was amazing how quick death occurred in the air. There was no pain, no suffering. One was there and one could be gone the next minute.

Sodel Josen wasn't so lucky either. He'd been caught out in the mayhem...being hit by two missiles. One tore of his wing and the other tore the back of his fighter off. The missile hits weren't that explosive, but it had fatally crippled his airplane. He was spinning out of control and the eject handle was completely useless. As pain and G-forces stuck to his body...he thought about everything that had happened in his life. He thought about everything that was good and bad. He thought about all the missed opportunities. He thought about his victories...and how they meant nothing now. He mostly thought about his failed mission. He'd failed God's mission.

But in truth...it was then that he realized that it was never God's mission. It was his own. All the things that he ever did were for his own power. Maybe Xalia was right about him. It seemed so ironic that his final vision was of hell. For the first time in his life...he felt fear. How fitting it occurred at the end of his life. How fitting for a man who pontificated about God...only to end up with a train ticket to Hell. He couldn't even accept his own death. He became deathly afraid as he entered the afterlife in a 300 mph flaming wreck of an F-18C.

But the Versuans weren't the only casualties. One unlucky man named David Lovecraft was in the wrong place at the wrong time when an errant, malfunctioning surface to air missile exploded near him. He was at some 12,000 feet when it hit, and it felt like a sledgehammer. The right wing was filled with smoking holes. His hydraulic and oil pressure was down to nothing.

"Shit. This is just great!" David yelled. He usually didn't curse but...he'd been hit with a missile. Just then, David finally had the thought this war was the most difficult he'd ever fought. But it could be worse...

"You okay! Bla...I mean, Jonathan! Are you alright!?" said Kei, almost giving the secret away yet _again_. The emotion was getting to her. After being forced down twice in her career, losing her daughter the way she did...she couldn't take any more heartbreak. But perhaps her fears were a bit early.

"Yeah...I'm fine...I'm just going to bail out over the green smoke areas." said David.

"Are you sure? Can you get back to base?" asked Grimm.

"Negative. Look, don't worry. How bad could it be? Scion, this Wardog 2...I'm going to need the rescue helicopter and I'll be somewhere in the western area." said David.

"Rescue chopper inbound, ETA...ten minutes." said the AWACS.

"Roger. And just in case I forget about the party, Happy Birthday Ava...and away I go!" said David.

Kei breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was alright...

"Yeah, happy birthday, mi Amor. Que hara mirasa..." said Lillian in her bastardization of the Sapinian language.

"...okay...um...Lillian...I think you've got to stop this girl-crush on Ava. You're making Jonathan jealous." said Polly.

"Oh, _come on_! What I can't wish her a happy birthday?" protested Lillian.

"Uh...hello people! One of our own has to bail out of his plane feet dry!" said Cormorance reminding everyone of the situation.

"Look, don't worry about me! I'll be fine!" said David.

"Hey, Captain...November City is playing Rutherford tonight...who should I take on the first half line?" said Andrew.

"Oh, for the love of..." David said.

As soon as the man formerly known as Blaze said that, he pulled the lever. He'd slowed his airplane and pointed it towards the edge of town so it would not hit any civilian buildings when he bailed out. It couldn't be helped. But as Bartlett once said, _planes are always replaceable_. It could be worse...

That was more than what could be said about the Versuans as they dropped like files. Kaida limped away in sheer embarrassment. Mephisto limped away barely avoiding the missiles. But there was still no response from Bel's leader.

High Command was in total shock at the display. Their computers were being hacked and their own SAMs had been used against them. Basra was as good as lost now. They went from competing for air superiority...to no air support at all. Basra began to degenerate into outright chaos. It seemed the Yukes had beaten everyone to the punch. They rolled almost effortlessly into the city center as soon as all air support vanished. The radio call said it all...

_We've taken the city center! They're surrendering! Basra is ours!_

**_Dispater_****_ Tower_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_1410 hrs_**

William Masson couldn't believe what he was witnessing. In the span of twenty minutes...everything had fallen apart. The civilians were awash in the streets, cheering, burning the flags of the White Crow. His lifelong dream was evaporating before his very eyes. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to even question whether or not he had a hand in their joy. He felt betrayed, hurt...and there was no betrayal like that of the people beneath a person. Masson was inspecting the Dispater Tower, when the operators were staring at a satellite view of the battle. With him were a ton of brass, and his precious Portia Masson.

Praeten Percival was torn though. He had been solidly in Portia Masson's camp for the longest time. The only reason was that White Crow was suffering under old, antiquated ideas of warfare by old school morons like William Masson, Rossi(who was thankfully not among the living), Mortanus, Crixus, among others. Though he respected Lord Masson, he never really embraced that man. Portia's prickly nature had come from him no doubt...but at least Portia wished for change. Her father's unwillingness to change was costing them the war and the lives of their soldiers. But then again, Portia's view of winning the war involved cutting off a finger to save a hand...to be kind.

Praeten had been rather mystified as to Masson's usage of Dispater. He requested its use in the east to counter a full out Allied attack, but due to bad intelligence...it was wasted. Now Dispater was recharging and they were looking at the collapse of Basra. Percival knew one thing and one thing only: heads were going to roll over this disaster. Crixus and Massio were on the proverbial chopping block.

"Those...no...it can't be? Why are they cheering for the enemy?" said William Masson. His eyes were darting. He was sweating...shaking and worried from every inch of his gait and body language. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His world was going up in flames.

"Perhaps our ethnic cleansing program did not go as swimmingly as possible." said Morales, fully aware of the old days of Versua's rise.

"Why are our men not fighting harder? How could..." asked Masson. Now Percival knew that Lord Masson was losing it. Percival knew exactly why it all happened. Versua's ruler seemed to be out of touch with reality.

"Oh, trust me sir. I don't think it's a lack of effort. I hate to admit this...but I think the Allies want it more." said Percival, just making up something to please his boss. But he couldn't say, _you idiot! The resistance turned our own SAMs against us! Where were you during this entire thing!?_

"That's impossible! Why?! Our people are sworn enemies of Osea and all they represent! How could they be so cheerful? My dream was to unify this land! One land, one language, one heart! And they are blatantly spitting in the face of my dream!" said Masson. William Masson was more than furious. He was enraged. His hate was boiling inside of him. Heaven forbid Masson would fail to force his people into loyalty; the White Crow _was _Versua.

The White Crow was their soul. Years ago these people were nothing more than animals with no identity. Masson had given them an identity. He'd given them something to cheer for. He gave them pride...and now they would spit in his face! No, that could not stand. Basra needed to be punished again. Basra was like the constantly unruly child that needed constant discipline. The Allies had momentum and a shocking show of power could swing morale in Verusa's favor. Masson pushed Percival and the tech out of the way, and tried to access Dispater's controls.

"What are you doing sir?!" said Mortanus, shocked at the actions. Of course, had he known...he may have let him go on.

"I'm going to punish them for their betrayal! We will have Basra...or not at all. I won't let them have it!" said Masson in a fervor. He frantically tried to manipulate the controls.

Masson had a bit of training on how to use the weapon himself...just in case. But Masson was not planning on using the weapon how Percival intended. Percival saw the maps and quickly realized that his target was not the Allied planes or their tank units approaching the city...it was the city itself.

"Lord Masson! Control yourself, sir! You strike the city, the world will align against us!" said Graysel, protesting and trying to pull him off the terminal. But Portia intervened.

"Where have you been Graysel? Haven't you noticed that's already happened?!" Portia screamed. Portia, for a moment, had reconsidered her plan to replace her father. But in reality, this was more of a fit of anger and madness from her father. But Praeten knew otherwise. Besides, Praeten was never in love with letting Crixus command the battle.

"It's bad enough you allowed Crixus to use this strategy sir! Not only did it fail once...you and General Morales allowed it to be used again!" protested Percival to William Masson.

"But these are our people! We can't hurt our own people for victory or there won't be anything left worth fighting for!" Graysel argued. Zorba cut him off.

"Oh _please_...the people are useless! We are the ones who matter! The people are replaceable! They are nothing without us!" shouted Zorba.

"As we are nothing without them!" said General Mortanus, speaking up.

"Mortanus, You ran a concentration camp! Just how valuable are the people to _you_ anyway?" Percival responded. Percival felt awkward. He was all over the map with his feelings now. Now he was unsure what side he was really on. Masson finally got up and stepped away, realizing his mistake.

"Enough! We have enough problems without us arguing amongst ourselves! We must hurry to prepare our next line of defense; it will be Valuria...no doubt about it." Masson said, finally regaining his leadership status. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Pardon to interrupt your bickering people..." said a voice.

Everyone turned and they saw General Ignis and Dr. Makin, who'd been suspended and reassigned for his actions in the Moab Madra debacle, walked over to the group of brass and bureaucrats.

"Ignis? Makin? Where have you been?" Zorba asked.

"Deeply involved in our research." responded Ignis in a quick tone. "Makin's sudden fervor has given rise to another weapon we can use against the Allies. We've spent the last days at the Demogorgon putting the finishing touches on the Azazeal."

"You finished the project?!" said Masson in total shock. He'd received conflicting reports from the people at the Demogorgon facility about the status of the massive aeronautical project.

"A bit ahead of schedule...if we can implement this before the Allies reach Valuria...we might have a chance to win this war." Ignis said.

Percival scoffed. It was only a chance...but given this leadership, that word was even more poignant. He just wished Portia would just murder her father already and be done with it. What was the point of waiting any longer? But, Portia _had_ to play her games. General Percival had no choice to play along with the game...for now.

**_Basra_****_, Versua_**

**_December 25, 2016_**

**_1420 hrs_**

The city was in chaos...and in adulation. She ran upstairs, telling Carmone to watch over the others in the basement. There was dust everywhere in the streets. Rue Daydenko had emerged from the apartment building to get a feel for the environment as the excitement in the air began to die down. The city was awash in fire, smoke and destruction. But everyone was celebrating as chants of "Dance with the Devil" could be heard all around. Rue then looked up at a falling man from the skies.

Rue saw a pilot slowly collapse from the sky and land into a small alley. She then looked up and saw a police officer running over to the foreign pilot. Rue recognized this slimy toad of a man from long before. Diego was ex-Orchid as well. Diego was a pathetic excuse for a human being. He was accused of beating people, extorting poor families and screwing around with his friends' wives...among other things.

Rue had even been offered his "advances", but when she refused she was beaten and thrown in prison for two weeks. It was a hell of a way to treat a former comrade. But, there was nothing anyone could do. Diego had some clout with the White Crow Party, even though he looked like some fat, hairy toad. She then fortuitously saw and picked up a bat lying in the street. The children tended to play baseball a lot in the streets. Something told her that now this metal bat was going to come in handy pretty soon...

David looked up and suddenly found himself facing a loaded gun. He'd landed on top of some abandoned apartment and when he came down the stairs he found himself in a cloud of dust as well as green and black smoke. He also found himself right in front of a cop. David knew there had to be some kind of civil authority in the city. But he had hoped that some would be a little more sympathetic. But upon witnessing the White Crow emblem on his uniform...David knew that was not going to be the case.

"Hands up! Now!" the cop said. David slowly complied.

"Osean dogs. You dare to come in our land and our homes! You are nothing more than a dog. You are no better than simple thief!" the cop said.

"I didn't come here to take anything." David replied.

"You kill our soldiers, you destroy our land." the Versuans said.

"Wow, you're a hell of a guy. I'd thought you'd care more about the people screaming around you. Your government thinks so little of you to use their ultimate weapon on your own soil...but I bet they forgot to tell you that part." said David.

But apparently, this cop was not having it. He immediately hit David with the butt of the gun, knocking him to the ground. The impact didn't hurt that much, but the force knocked him to the ground. As he recovered somewhat, the guard still pointed the gun at him.

"Enough! Shut up! I should kill you right now, and spit on your grave! And maybe I'll go find your wife and kill her too. She's probably ugly anyway..." he said with a laugh.

That was not a smart thing to say. David was pissed now. He'd stepped over the line. Sure, point a gun at him; but to _insult_ his wife was anathema.

"No one calls my woman ugly. I bet your mother didn't treat you very well." said David. David was now buying time...because he saw a woman with a bat sneaking up behind him.

"You talk big for someone who doesn't even have a plane anymore!" the police officer said.

"...and you talk big for someone who forgot to never turn your back on your _own_ women!" said David, his look giving it away.

"What..." the cop said turning around...

WHAM! Rue delivered a solid blow with the metallic baseball bat. David saw the tall blond-haired woman hit the asshole cop so hard that it nearly cracked his head completely open; blood went everywhere, spraying on the walls. She hit him more several times before she stopped.

"Misogynist bastard." she said finally throwing the bloody aluminum bat to the ground.

David had to thank this woman, but she did it in her own way. David knew she was trying to thank David for freeing her and her people, but maybe, just _maybe_…she was getting too affectionate. David wasn't expecting this woman to just...kiss him. Usually, a woman would give the liberating soldier a kiss on the cheek...fine. But this woman was coming at him with a kiss Kei would give...with _tongue _too! As a bewildered David pulled away after he became fully aware of what was going on, the woman did the same...almost amazed as David was over what she did. She was breathing hard as if she'd just had sex; though she probably had a ton of a adrenaline to lose.

"What the hell was that for?" David asked totally confounded.

"I don't know. But...I don't think our spouses will be too jealous." said Rue, looking at the wedding band. She was almost laughing.

"God, I hope not. What's your name?" asked David.

"Rue." the woman said, shaking his hand. "And you?"

"David." he said. "Just don't tell anyone else though."

"Fine by me." Rue said simply.

Suddenly, David looked to his left and suddenly a ton of people were gathering outside the alley. They walked out of the alley and looked at the scene. A bunch of civilians were surrounding what looked to be a Versuan soldier of some kind. They were cursing in their language, screaming threats of revenge and grabbing objects and hitting the soldier. David was shocked by this. If this had happened to an Allied soldier, it was to be...an improbable contingency. This was shocking. They were abusing one their own soldiers!

"What are they doing?!" David asked strongly. Rue paused.

"These people were once members of old tribes. They were close knit communities with their own beliefs. But Masson and the White Crow came and snuffed all of it out. The people of this city have no love for Masson or his dreams of grandeur. A lot of people died for this empire to be born." said Rue.

"But...aren't you going to do something about this?!" David asked. This was unprecedented in a modern war era.

"I can't control how they feel. I used to be of the White Crow...but I left long ago. To help would prove me a hypocrite. But, I wish it..." Rue said. David cut her off.

"So you're just going to let them do this?!" he said. But Rue did not seem to have the strength of character to do it herself. He understood why...but it didn't make it right.

David didn't know what to think. Here he was being treated like a hero, and this enemy pilot was being treated like some kind of animal. The kicking, the cursing, the screaming, the beating continued unchecked...and this woman was both understandably helpless and unforgivably unwilling to stop it. David understood why she felt this way, but for the Versuan people to act as their enemies did spoke very little of them.

Cormorance Alou wouldn't have cared one way or another. Paulo Scirro, God rest his soul, would have exploded in anger at this display. Lillian and Andrew may have been indifferent and Polly would no doubt have acted callous. Kei probably would do the same thing David did. In desperation...he ran back, took the gun from the dead cop and started firing it into air a few times. The crowd dispersed as quickly as it gathered. Rue looked at him...with a sad look on her face. She knew she could have done something...but she didn't. She looked ashamed.

"Thank you." said Rue.

"Save it. Look, you may have that guilt, but it doesn't excuse not caring about what's not right. If I allow them do this...then they're no better than the White Crow are." David said with a stinging voice. He threw the gun down and began to walk away.

Suddenly, a man merged from the alley. He was just another haggardly dressed man that David would not recognize in a police lineup.

"Vasei...what's going on?!" asked Rue.

"Jesus Christ, Rue! They were stripping and dragging the corpses of White Crow supporters through the streets! They're cutting the hair of women who slept with them! Their burning the White Crow flag everywhere! It's total chaos; we've got to back inside!"

David took a long cold look at the burning city and shook his head. He thought about his dead daughter for a mere moment. He thought about her pretty face and her bright personality. He thought about how that promising child's life was snuffed out with a single deadly action. Now that single deadly action had resulted in all this chaos. It was supposed to be different when he was in the air. He was supposed to hear the shouts of praise from the civilians below. He thought they would be given hosannas. The former had indeed occurred. The Allies were the new Kings of Basra. But David never thought things would degenerate into the mess it had now become. People were rioting, dragging their own soldiers into the streets, cursing at them, stripping them, beating them, killing them.

David walked up to the still man in the streets. He'd been beaten beyond recognition. David checked for a pulse...and there was none. The man was dead. The man probably looked to be a young man in his mid-twenties. On his person, David found pictures...several pictures. But he couldn't recognize anyone in the photographs. But behind some of the pictures lay a group of crimson colored Su-37s. This man, whoever he was, had to be a member of that squadron or a fan of it. If David was a gambling man, he was probably a member of the Crimson squadron. But as he thought that, he felt some pity for this man.

Now David wondered if those soldiers deserved better from their people.

He didn't even think about Kei's birthday party he was probably going to barely make...assuming of course, he was picked up in a timely manner. Suddenly, there was a helicopter overhead; an Allied chopper. David afforded himself a small smile as he waved. The woman exchanged a smile with David.

"Come back sometime. You'll always have a home here." said Rue, almost shouting.

"Thanks..." David replied to himself. He could only mouth the words, but the woman understood his lips.

As the loud sounds of the chopper and the constant dust forced the woman inside, David wondered about a lot of things.

David had little idea what the White Crow had done to this population. A decade of enduring hunger, disease, abuse of power, unlawful imprisonment, corrupt authorities, and even outright murder had done nothing but make them enemies of the White Crow. But if that woman's words were true, then perhaps Masson's men deserved it. But there was no way she could have been embellishing. Why else would the people have this kind of reaction? They couldn't have all been lying. To think that these people's cries for aid fell on deaf ears. Not even Belka or Erusea had degenerated into a mess like this. The soldiers were also pawns in this game.

David tried not to think about it as he got into the chopper. He had his wife's birthday party to go to after all. He had a special gift for her too. But he couldn't make the thought go away.

David finally realized that the Verusan people and its soldiers deserved better of their leaders.

Next: Chapter 18: Do No Harm


	18. Do No Harm

Chapter 18: Do No Harm

"_Blood is thicker than water, but love is thicker than blood." - Goldie Nash_

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**December 25, 2016**_

_**2000 hrs**_

Kei wondered whatever happened to that reporter, that Genette. Albert Genette one said about Pops after their first battles: _From the sky, the morning after, Pops came back like nothing had happened, as if the open sky had always been his one true home._

David Lovecraft did much of the same. Although Sueltana Devia put it in her own words:

_I looked outside the window and there he was. Jonathan had come back. It was if nothing had happened the way it did. I saw his face when was kissing his girl. He looked so happy. Ava was very happy. I was worried when she came back. It was her birthday and she looked like she was sad. But now everything's fine again._

When David came back in that helicopter, it was if nothing had happened before. Everyone was there to greet their fearless comrade and Kei could finally celebrate her birthday in peace. Basra had been taken with relatively little cost. It was a rather "clean battle" as the superiors called it. Despite the chaos, the enemy was out of Basra. Operation Antares was over. Next was the preparation for Operation Constantine, the invasion of Valuria, and Operation Iron Sea, the invasion of Disra. But before Constantine could kick off, the Allies had to regroup. So the Allied front into an "operational pause" to re-supply and regroup.

After some time, the pilots of Wardog met in the ready room and locked the door. They did not invite Sueltana, not because they didn't want her there, but because alcohol and bad language was being slung around like bullets and that was not the environment in which she belonged.

Especially when Fisch started telling the story about he a friend and a girlfriend(all stone drunk by the way) wandering for ten miles down a road at midnight. Or when Polly told the story about how her father got drunk and tried that "spitting the burning alcohol" trick...only to burn down half the living room. Or the time Lillian got into a fight with an old lady on an airplane. Or when Grimm told the story about when he kicked a burning aerosol can as a teenager. But in the middle of the storytelling, Polly decided to give her own impromptu toast to Kei Nag…or rather Ava Sosabee.

"This is for Ava and the fact that she's a decade from being over the hill. And it's for Jonathan and everyone else who has put up with this prudish woman. And here is to everyone in the squadron and all those who wish us well. And here's to our enemies..." Polly said, pouring the contents of her drink on the floor, "They can burn in Hell!"

"Amen to that!" said David, tapping glasses with Kei.

So after this, the group gave Kei an interesting variety of gifts. They were mostly from the heart. The others were a bit more...practical of their personalities rather than something Kei would enjoy. But she was equally appreciative. Cormorance got her a new watch, since the one she had originally was stolen by the guards that prison. Lillian got Kei this rather strange black colored Gothic looking outfit. It wasn't particularly revealing, but it certainly did not disappoint. Though, Kei wondered if Lillian really did have a crush on Kei.

Polly, the pseudo-alcoholic she was, got her a bottle of Green Rose Chardonnay and Andrew actually used some of his gambling winnings and bought Kei a book called _The Dawn Moon._ Grimm and David had the best gifts. Grimm gave Kei a rather touching gift. It was a brand new version of the story, _A Blue Dove for the Princess_. He had planned to give to her months ago, but even now after Catherine was gone...it was as good a gift as any...especially considering how important the book was to Kei herself. David wanted to withhold his gift until later...when they were alone. While this was going on, Lillian brought up something strange.

"So was it true then?" Lillian asked Cormorance. Alou was caught a bit off guard.

"Well yeah...of course. I couldn't make that up." he responded.

"So what story are you talking about...the fondue intimacy mishap...or the rundown?" asked Fisch.

"I don't want to talk about it..." Cormorance said.

Grimm had never met a man that was more segregated between is personal life and his professional life than Cormorance Alou. Sure, it was okay. But Cormorance almost never talked about his home life. But Cormorance Alou had a reason for that. He focused on the _mission_ first above all else. He put Potenza and his little kids out his mind for the mission. That was why he had the highest kill record in the squadron.

"Oh come on...you never tell any stories Cormorance. You never talk about yourself at all!"

"Okay...okay. This one is about me getting drug along in some weird martial problem involving my previous squadron commander ...and this is one for the ages." said Alou, putting his drink down.

"So what happened?" asked Kei.

"This was actually a year ago. I was stationed at Bright Island...you know where that's at; in the cold North Sea area. My son, Micho, hadn't been born yet. My daughter Leera, was one and was just perpetually sick. My wife's freezing her butt off and so was I. It was just a dreadful place to live; year round cold. So, we would used to liven up the mood by playing pranks on everybody. So after me and wife's fondue mishap, something that will remain a state secret..."

Everyone started laughing after that.

"He still has the burns from that!" said Andrew, laughing. Cormorance shot him a nasty look.

"Anyway, after that...my squadron commander, Major McKnight, took this rather embarrassing picture of the aforementioned injury. He posts it in the squadron ready room for everyone to see! Now I'm pissed, because after six months, I was being transferred to McNealy and much better weather. Now I'm all exposed to the new guys. Can you believe that? My reputation was at stake. That was totally over the line. So I decided to get him back..."

"I can't wait to hear this." Lillian added.

"His wife was like this real suspicious, jealous type. She was real nice. She'd invite us and our families over for dinner; we'd watch sports over her house...real nice woman. So I decided to get him back, by screwing with this woman's paranoia. It was actually my wife's idea..." Alou said, trailing off.

"Oh stop..." Kei said, not buying a word of what Alou was trying to stay.

"No, he's serious. It _was_ Potenza's idea." Fisch added.

"The _intention_ was to make his wife think McKnight was cheating on her. I was going to do a bunch of stuff like slash his tires and leave threatening letters. But by some chance, I accidently run into her on the way home. I actually let her in on the secret, just to screw with his head, after what he did to me...and she was into it! She thought the idea was funny as hell. So we get to the house...and there's another car in the driveway. Maggie nearly has a coronary. There really _is_ another woman in this house! So I guess they were...finishing up inside. She goes into the house, breaking down doors..."

"Oh, mother of God..." Kei continued.

"And he's running out the back...and it's literally 23 degrees out there. It's snowing! Maggie's chasing him with a bat and he's trying to run out the back door with his pants around his ankles!" Cormorance finished.

At this point, everyone was at the point of tears. Even Kei was almost rolling on the floor laughing.

"So he gets...free...and he's running into the woods. Just buck naked. She's chasing him and I am too taking pictures like one of those cameramen on TV. He's trying to get away, but he forgot that Maggie was a track star in college. She chased him down in the snow and she beat the shit out of him. I thought she was going to kill him, I had to hold her back and then she starts trying fight me! So I got the hell out of there!" Cormorance said, barely capable of holding his laughter. No one else could.

"So, needless to say...I caught a lot of heat. In fact, I would have been grounded for thirty days had I not been ready to transfer. The base commander tore into both of us. Fisch got mad at me because he got involved in it because I was too. Part of it was his idea. So we're leaving the office and Fisch was just shaking...I mean we're transferring and he's sending an official disciplinary write up to the guys at McNealy. But I didn't care." said Cormorance with a sly smile.

"You didn't care at all?" asked Kei.

"_F him!_" interjected Fisch, "That's what you were saying when we were leaving. F him! _F him_!"

Kei and David both shook their heads. Although Kei wished she could have said that to Perrault and Hamilton a few times back at Sand Island.

"We finally transferred. And our new squadron commander, this lady named Major Watson, she looked at the write up, tore it up...and laughed her ass off when I told her the whole story." said Fisch.

"I remember her. She was riot." said Polly. David didn't bother to ask, as he figured Polly probably served under her.

"Yeah...too bad she bought it at Anapola." said Cormornace sadly.

"She's dead?" asked David.

"Yeah, Dispater got her...took half the squad too. Damn Versuans."

"I'm sorry." Kei said sadly.

"That's okay." Cormrorance said, brushing it off.

After some time, the group disbanded, leaving David and Kei alone in the ready room. By now it was nearly 2030. Kei and David retired to their quarters. It was probably going to be the last night they spent at Vastos before they moved south to the town of Nasriya. Most of the base had finally shut down and everyone was on the verge of enjoying a decent night's sleep. Well...most of them...

"So...what gift was it that you wanted to wait so long to give to me?" Kei asked. David looked to his right, pulled out a drawer and then emerged a small box in some kind of red cellophane wrapping with a bow on it.

"This little thing I found...I've been holding onto it for a long time." said David with a smile. Kei took the box from David.

"It seems strange that earlier today...you were lost in a war torn city with no plane. Then suddenly you're here in a couple of hours flat. It seems...oh my...where did you get this?!" she said, both stunned and elated at what she saw after she unwrapped the gift.

She was looking at a blue colored gem on the edge of a necklace. David looked away, and then he finally spoke. As it was special to Kei...it must have been special to David.

"Like I said, I've been holding onto that for a long time. Six years in fact." said David.

"It is just…beautiful." said Kei, her reflection shining through the edges of the beautiful jewelry.

"It belonged to my mother. I got it from one of her friends in Oured. I've kept it for so long, the only memory I had of her. When we were on that cruise, I thought I'd been holding onto it for too long. I was going to give that to our daughter when she was old enough but..." David said sadly. Kei approached him put her arms around his neck.

"Thank you. This is one of the best gifts anyone's ever given me. No...It's the best. I've never seen anything this...wow..." she said lifting the gem to her eyes.

As she said that, the phone ringed. It was probably Lucien Jackson. David broke away and picked it up.

"Number Two." David said, trying to be official. Kei began to slowly walk away.

"I'm going to try this on and see how it looks." said Kei while she walked away into the bathroom while David answered the phone.

"Really? When did this happen? Where? Outside Karbala? Okay...when's the briefing? Two days. Got you." David said.

David hung up the phone. What he heard from Lucien disturbed him a bit, but for the time being...it didn't concern him. Because by the time David finished the phone conversation with Lucien, Kei had re-emerged. The way she postured herself was a bit similar to the way Sueltana pontificated about herself in the black mascara several days ago. But, it didn't last particularly long. Her goofy looks were nothing but a visible emotion of sheer happiness at her birthday gift from David. Her facial expression was one of sheer felicity with an air immature innocent charm.

"Do you like what you see? It's so beautiful." she asked, flourishing the beautiful piece of jewelry with a smile on her face.

David didn't even say that was a foolish question. He couldn't find any words to respond. Kei came up to him and put her arms around his neck. David was a little sheepish now, which was unusual since he'd been with her for six years…unless took into account the fact that Kei was completely nude.

_**Castelle van Stijl**_

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 25, 2016**_

_**2100 hrs**_

Sasha Masson was miles away from the birthday party...or rather, a world apart. While Wardog celebrated...William Masson's youngest daughter spent her nights alone biting her fingernails in fear of the impending doom that was bearing down on the Ivory City. And she wasn't the only one...

This beautiful city was now even more busy than usual. Troops were being moved in. The people who were inclined to evacuate were leaving in a steady, ordered streams. But Sasha had refused to leave until the battle was joined with the enemy. This was her home after all. She couldn't leave now. To do so would have irreparably damaged her reputation. She was something of a local icon. But the more that Sasha stayed in the city, the longer she sat at the window, hoping her husband would be safe...the more it drove her insane. Sasha knew that the world she grew up in, the privilege, the money, the pride, the royalty, the hope...it was all in serious danger. But Sasha knew better than to only worry about her hopes. The world she grew up in, Versua, this nation her father had rebuilt was in danger of complete collapse.

Sasha looked at a picture of her mother, Viera Stijlan Masson. Her mother had died suddenly six years ago. What bothered Sasha about her death was mysteriousness of it all. There was no autopsy and no investigation into her death. Sasha thought it may have been some congenial heart failure or some type of cancer. But she only recently thought of it. She didn't consider these things when she was fifteen years old. Years ago, her mother's death brought her father to tears. Now Viera was merely an afterthought. Portia's mother died when she was seven and Xalia's died shortly after she was born.

This Castelle had been left to Sasha from her mother. It was her personal retreat from the chaos of the world. But now that chaos was on her birth city's doorstep. Valuria was a city filled with history and beauty. There was Goran Lake, the massive bay where the Besari River leads out into the ocean. Spanning the large and beautiful lake was Angel Bridge. It was a symbol of pride and it was actually similar to King's Bridge in Gracemeria. This city was the birthplace of the White Crow. Not even the industrial heartland, Disra, held a candle to the importance of Valuria, save Ciudad or the Black Castle in the conquered land of Clavis.

To lose Valuria would have catastrophic. For all the morale-crippling defeats they suffered, the Versuans held several advantages. The city was double the size of Basra. The Navy had bottlenecked the river with mines and obstacles and concentrated the remnants of the Navy in the bay. And most important of all...the Versuans in Valuria, Masson fanatics all, would be behind the hometown heroes.

Sasha cared little for it now. She wanted someone to talk to. Her only options were her husband Ammon and Xalia, her older sister. But Xalia had been mostly incommunicado for many days. Ammon, strangely, seemed a bit more distant now. As the Allies advanced, organization and logistics became precarious at times. Dyches and the people on the security teams weren't objective people and any of Sasha's concerns were to fall on deaf ears.

But Xalia would listen. Sasha had written her a letter informing Xalia she was going to have a kid...but no word back. Sasha found herself deeply concerned about the future. But as she simply wrote in her voluminous diary, the phone rang. Sasha literally jumped up from her bed, ran over to her desk and nearly knocked over the phone trying to answer it.

"Hello?" Sasha said, sounding a bit desperate. On the other line she heard a much needed voice.

_Sasha?_

"Xalia...is that you?" said Sasha, almost shocked to her Xalia's voice.

_What do you think, shorty?_

Sasha smiled and laughed. She hadn't heard Xalia call her that nickname in months. That moniker referred to her five foot, one inch height.

"You witch...you just had to get that little shot in." said Sasha with a laugh.

_How are you?_

Sasha merely felt ill by her asking that very question.

"I've been throwing up all morning but...I'm not sure if its Kaida being out there or the baby." Sasha said, putting a hand on her stomach.

_Maybe it's both. You should stop worrying so much about him. Kaida can handle himself. I needed to talk to you though. I'm really sorry I haven't been able to talk to you but...I need you right now._

"Is it something between you and Baraka or...what's going on out there?" asked Sasha. Sasha knew from word of mouth that Xalia and Baraka had been having relationship problems. Sasha was never fully trusting or fully distrustful of Baraka Molina. He had weird but interesting vibes about him.

_I know that being our world falling apart. I know our father is losing his mind...but...it's...it's everything. The walls are closing in on my heart and my mind._

"What do you mean?"

_He's just built this wall between us because of our enemy; one specific enemy. And it's driven him crazy. You know Alex died...he didn't even talk about him...as if he was an afterthought. He was more obsessed with that ace or whatever, but...that's beside the point..._

"Yes, I know. Ammon told me over the phone earlier. Neither of them had any business out there...and neither do you! None of us should be!" said Sasha, almost changing the subject. She didn't really want to hijack the conversation, but she had no choice.

Sasha was doubtful about the war from the start, as she did not know her father's reasons for initiating the war in the first place. By now, Versua's leadership had dug us all into a deep hole and few knew why. The soldiers thought they knew, but when the Yuktobanian invasion fell apart...any reason for the war became irrelevant. That was what Sasha never could understand.

What amazed Sasha was how quickly Basra fell. Basra fell like a house of cards and people were celebrating the Allies' emergence into the city. They burned flags, they drug Versuan soldiers' corpses through the streets (the mere thought of the sordid claim made Sasha ill), and generally cursed her father's regime...or rather empire.

_What are you saying? That we should just give up!?_

"What choice do we have? Look, I've been around my father...he's losing his freaking mind! Everyone is asking all kinds of questions and fingers are pointing...don't you get it...we're going to lose this struggle! We've no friends in the world left...the world has turned against my father...and I'm beginning to think that people are starting to turn on him from the inside." said Sasha.

_Say what you want...I'm not ready to give this place up to the enemy yet. There's still hope. There's still an end to this._

"To what end?! Xalia, if you keep holding on to that...you're going to die real soon!" said Sasha with extreme urgency

_Listen...I understand your point. I'm not sure if it's you or the hormones talking but...you don't know what it's like out there._

Sasha struggled to find words, her voice was halting; her eyes were becoming heavy.

"Look...I love you Xalia. I...I just...I just don't want you to be another casualty!" Sasha said as her eyes became visibly watery. There was a long pause from Xalia before she spoke. Xalia heard it in her voice. But her answer would no doubt disappoint her.

_I love you too, dear sister. But at this point...I don't think it matters anymore._

"So you're just going to throw your life away!" Sasha screamed into the phone.

_I'm just trying to make sure that people like you go on and live in peace. If we are to be swept from the world...then...I want to make sure that people like you can pick up the pieces and go on. We're expendable...you are not. Look, I have to go. I'm sorry if this sounds callous but...it's just the way things are._

"Xalia..." Sasha said. But the phone clicked as Xalia hung up the phone. Sasha let out an angry cry and violently shoved the phone, along with a few other objects, off the desk. She looked at a few pictures of her father and her mother on the desk. She shed a few tears when she looked at her mother...and she gritted her teeth looking one of her father. She subsequently threw it across the room and it shattered against the wall.

"Damn you, father! Why did this have to happen?! Why? What the hell is this war for?" said Sasha out loud, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Some may have argued that Sasha may have overreacted. This meltdown was out of character for Sasha. But perhaps, Sasha felt she was the only one in Versua who could truly see the writing on the wall. The only thing she could do was pray for Kaida...and for Versua itself.

The irony was astounding. Her father brought peace to the Versan world; a world ravaged by war. Now she had an unborn child about to be born into this world that was now being ravaged by war.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**December 26, 2016**_

_**0400 hrs**_

Any normal person would have had blissful dreams after a nocturnal encounter with a significant other. But David Lovecraft was not a normal person obviously. The dreams were wonderful at first...but then, only memories of the past came back. Unlike Kei, who merely dreamed them up...David thought it was a mixture of nightmares and dreams melded into one confusing mess.

There were all the times he experienced, good and bad, from days of recent and days long gone by. The first time he flew came into his mind. That first battle six years ago; it was where this entire roller coaster of happy and tragic moments began.

_Are you still alive?_

_Yeah, Captain. Everything is fine._

_Well, to commemorate the fact that we all made it out alive, I'm going to let you keep your nickname. But I'm still going to call you kid from now on no matter what._

_Fine by me, sir._

_You certainly know how to make first impressions Blaze._

_Edge...you're the one with the first impressions. You're the only one who didn't try steal the show._

Then, there was the war itself. The memories of that scene at St. Hewlett were burned into his mind. The wounds had long healed, but the scar on his mind was immense. It was buried deep in his mind...and now he was reliving it in more graphic detail.

_There are people...floating in the waters..._

_Holy...that was..._

_Kid did you see that?_

_Did I see that? Do you think I'm blind, Chopper?! Last time, I checked a flaming plane hit the water with people in the sea!_

_I know...that sea..._

_...I think I'm going to be sick._

_Was it one of ours?_

_Does it matter? Let's finish this...we've still got more work to do._

_...Roger. Let's go._

Then it was that cold morning on the highway. It seemed like a long strange transition from the first memory of the war to the last one. The highway they took off from when Oured was in grave danger from that falling satellite. The nightmare went away for a short while. It was just him and the woman he loved...staring at the stars. All they could find to say was how much they missed the people they loved. But then again, they had each other...who could ask for anything more? It was freezing and the couple sat embracing each other...ready to finish their struggles.

_Somewhere up there is that SOLG. I can't wait to blow it out of the sky. It's coming here and I want to prove myself one last time._

_You and me both. It'll be good to finally bring this to an end._

_...'and consign this weapon of mass destruction to the wastes of history.'_

_Well said._

_I'm just imitating you Kei...without the feminine voice._

_Ha! Well played. You read my mind. I know there is an end to this._

_But...when this ends...what we going to do?_

_...What else do normal people do when they leave the life? They go home and try to restart the family life...but..._

_...You and I have never had that._

_Then let's try it then. Let's roll the dice and run away and hide...just the two us. Let's find some lonely corner of the planet to ourselves. Let's just..._

_...go for it...Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves._

_Maybe..._

_But then again, there's no one else I'd rather run off into the sunset...than with you._

_Then let's go. Let's bring this to an end and live the movie ending...for real!_

That love grew. But that love was difficult at times. Running away and hiding was the easy part. The hard part was creating a life. The first time, Kei miscarried. But they didn't give up...that will...that love created Catherine.

_So, I read this thing on the computer that if you talk to a child before its born it gets smarter._

_That's a myth. Besides, can it even hear us? That would look kind of...weird. Yeah, that's normal...people seeing reading to my extremely extended stomach. They'll go, "Hey, look at that pregnant crazy person reading to herself!" _

_Well, I've heard stories about babies being able to recognize if a parent doesn't want it._

_That is true...but...at least we don't have to worry about her hating us because we don't want her. I mean, we definitely want this child to happen, period dot. But...we still have to come up with a name._

_I have the perfect idea. Name it after your mother. Seems fitting._

_My mother didn't want me at all! I was abandoned, left to starve! That's not a memory I want to keep!_

_Then make it a new memory. Make it something to be proud of. You used to tell me how much you hated her for that...then let it go...and remember her how she was. Like if I wanted to name it after my mother._

_My mother abandoned me; your mother was murdered! If anyone deserves to keep a memory alive it's you. But I see your point...so let's decide right now. Keiko or Catherine; Heads...tails...call it in the air._

_Tails._

_My, we have a winner. Catherine's a pretty name anyway._

Kei never looked so beautiful. She was like a cherub angel when she carried Catherine. But the nightmare didn't stay gone long. Soon, David was staring down Catherine's death right in front of him. Soon, that death created more death. Her death had indirectly created this war.

_The nerve of that man!_

_What the hell does he want with us?_

_No, what I meant to say that he was so rude. He didn't even say goodbye. Just shows up announced, we're trying to deal with Catherine's death and he comes asking us to fight a war for him? Who is this guy?! It was just so classless._

_More than classless; that was...almost bush league._

_We should have told him just to get the hell out. If he comes back, I'm going to punch him in the face._

_Like you did with Hamilton back at Sand Island?_

_No, harder. Some teeth may come loose. That's how mad I am at him._

_What if he was right? I mean, he wouldn't lie to us?_

_Maybe? Look, look who we're dealing with. These people in our government now are nothing more than rich, war-hungry people who want to throw us into every conflict imaginable._

Soon David found himself selling out for revenge. But now, even after all this...he thought maybe that he was needed. He had to reenter the nightmare, not only for revenge...but to save the lives of so many who were at risk. For whatever reason, the next thought was about the history of this barren wasteland of a country.

_This crap hole called Verusa used to be a kingdom...like with knights and stuff?_

_Belka used to be a Kingdom too...look how they ended up._

_I know that Jonathan...but Versua?_

_The ancient home of their power was the Casta van Christos Angelia. The Home of God and the Angels. Back then, there was a king who thought he was God. He was actually a priest before it was discovered he was heir to the throne. But the power went to his head and he became this "God-King". His name was Disyrus...I think._

_What happened to him?_

_It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't try to make his people into slaves. The people rose up and overthrew him; rather violently. They pursued Disyrus to the ends of the land. They hung him in what became known as the Gorgon's End. The battle cry of the rebels was Dasave Angelia Devio...it roughly translates to one of three phrases: Go be with the Angels, Dance with the Angels, or Go be with the Devils...or something like that._

_How do you know all that Lillian? You're not a Verusan._

_Well, __**someone**__ had to do their homework before they came here._

Then...there was hope. There was a little hope. That hope was a child named Sueltana Devia. She was merely a kid he kept seeing. A homeless child living what peripatetic existence she could carve out. Digging though trash for food...she looked weak and forlorn at the state of her life. Her parents were no doubt long dead...David saw himself in that kid. In fact...he saw everyone in her. It was innocence; something that reminded him of why he was fighting. So it was this innocent soul that provided him with that spark of hope when Kei was thought to be a casualty of war.

_What happened?_

_I can't really explain it to you. It was...Lillian got into an accident with one of the bad guys. And, Kei was shot up real bad by them as well. They had to eject and their alive. But the bad guys, the Versuans...they killed Paulo._

_I...I'm sorry._

_No...You don't have to apologize for anything. I..._

_Why are you crying? Is it because of Ava? I thought she was still alive?!_

_...no. It's not that._

_My mother told me that people cry sometimes when their happy. So...is it that?_

_No...It was because I was thinking about all the terrible the bad guys could hurt her. But...we're going to get her._

David thought about that epic rescue...which didn't seem that epic. He imagined the kiss...but that kiss faded into that woman...that Rue woman back in Basra. Something was happening in his soul. It was twisting and turning and it felt that David's mind was about to tear in half when he saw that scene in Basra.

_What are they doing?! David asked strongly._

_These people were once members of old tribes. They were close knit communities with their own beliefs. But Masson and the White Crow came and snuffed all of it out. The people of this city have no love for Masson or his dreams of grandeur. A lot of people died for this empire to be born._

_But...aren't you going to do something about this?!_

_I can't control how they feel. I used to be of the White Crow...but I left long ago. To help would prove me a hypocrite. But, I wish it..._

_So you're just going to let them do this?!_

David saw the dead soldier's face...and he found himself looking right in the mirror. The dead soldier was his own visage. And with that sight...he exploded from his subconscious back into the real world. His heart was going a million miles an hour and nothing but sweat dripping down his body. Kei had apparently realized this; after all, he had torn himself from her embrace...rather violently at that.

"You alright? What happened? You were really writhing about there…" Kei said, putting her hand her husband's shoulder.

"I'm alright." David said, breathing laboriously. He hung his head for a minute...then raised it to meet her gaze. Kei brought her face closer to his.

"Was it...what happened in that city?" said Kei, her head almost touching his shoulder. She was quite aware of what went on in Basra after the city fell. The chaos was still going on...but it was mostly under control.

"I think so..." said David, he was shaking a bit. Kei was now as close as she could get to him. The cold metal locket was now against his chest instead of against her nude anatomy.

"I had...when I was coming back; I had all these dreams about the past. I'm not sure if it was psychological effects of that...weird local cure I was under but..." Kei said slowly.

"I don't know." David said. His eyes were Kei knew the remedy to this. She didn't waste any time on the reaction. She knew the proper medicine to a nightmare... a little love.

"Well...here's to no more nightmares." said Kei.

Kei kissed him, her skin like a warm silk. David hadn't felt her like this in such a long time. It was as if her feelings for him were bubbling beneath her very skin. She was laying her head across his shoulder, her hair dropping down his torso. The cold metal locket was still rubbing against his chest. He felt her heart rate rise again...and his own; but unlike a few hours before...it didn't lead to a second "go around". They could have probably spent the remainder of that time awake feeling each other up and making love again...but now they were just content to sleep. David was just happy the nightmare was over. He was happy that Kei was there with him. They merely wrapped their arms around each other and went back to sleep.

_**Haleron Airport**_

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 26, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

If David Lovecraft had a single nightmare, Ammon Kaida had been living in a nightmare for many days. In some form or fashion, he felt responsible for the way the war was going. He felt responsible for Alex's death. Now the war was coming to the doorstep of his hometown. The allies were only a stone's throw away, and things had all but fallen apart on the front line ahead. Valuria, a city of nearly eleven million people, was a much different ball game. The air force had been spread out over the entire city. They were at airports, airbases and highways. The Allies, as of the moment, were in a holding pattern as they regrouped for the inevitable attacks on Valuria and Disra.

Kaida sat in a chair inside one of the offices at the airport, which had been converted to a makeshift airbase. He stared out the window trying to come up with answers to Alex's death. And for all his thinking...he couldn't find any answer. Sasha couldn't help him. Baraka treated him as an afterthought, a testament to the rift between the two. Xalia couldn't help him. Yet no one blamed him for what happened over Basra...and still Kaida blamed himself. Heaven forbid members of a paramilitary resistance take over SAMs and use them against friendly forces...

Morale was low, but rather mixed in places. Losing Basra was bad enough. Losing Alex was worse. But losing Sodel Josen, as crazy as he was...was a triple dose of Hell for the air force. Sodel's death was yet another national tragedy, and apart from Dorian, there were now there only four of the old-school aces left.

One of them was Gevin Malles. Malles was the leader of the "under the radar" Luna Squadron. Luna had been quietly building their reputation, but Luna had been hampered with several defeats. They had lost at San Ava and Camalon. Their reputation took a major hit after the Anapola disaster. Then again, everyone took a hit to their pride after that bitter loss. Gevin Malles was probably the last level headed ace in the military. Mora was too old school, Morala was far too fanatical and arrogant...and no one knew much about Valen Yancing, Diabalos Squadron's lead. Malles was a man who once prided himself on never losing a wingman...but now he'd lost a few. The attrition of war was wearing down the VAF.

Malles begrudged Kaida, who had no one else but himself to lose. But then again, everyone hated him _because_ he had no one else to lose but his own life or freedom. Kaida took off into combat alone 95 percent of the time, the exceptions being with Mephisto (who had been transferred to Disra's air defense) or that relief sortie with Alex.

He should have never been there. Kaida was still banged up, but he felt he had to be out there...even if it violated his own philosophy of flying alone.

"There you are...I've been trying to track you down." said Malles, entering the room.

"What is it, Commander?" said Kaida. Kaida didn't know Malles that well, thus he never got personal with him. Malles handed him a small package.

"There was a parcel left for you by Mr. Haari, delivered upon his death by the Signal Office as requested in his testament." said Malles. Kaida looked at it for a minute but said nothing.

"Mr. Haari had apparently gone AWOL from the medical center and delivered this to me as I am to you. He seemed...almost deathly afraid. He then left this with us. It seemed most fortunate since he unfortunately was killed in action." said Malles.

"I distinctly remember him saying that he something important to tell me...but given the situation at the front...I had no choice but to cut him off and get into my plane. But I suppose it didn't matter anyway." Kaida concluded. He held up the package to the retreating form of Malles.

"Thanks for this." Kaida said simply.

"No problem...just don't you die on us." said Malles.

"Same to you." replied Kaida.

Kaida opened the package and out poured a letter, a few pictures, a newspaper article, and a picture of Alex, Kaida, and Xalia taken months ago. The pictures were of friends and relatives...but the newspaper article was the more important piece of evidence. But Kaida wasn't interested in that as of yet. He read the leader silently to himself.

_Dear Ammon:_

_If you are reading this then...I'm dead obviously. I only went up into the sky to face my death. I no doubt acted excited that I was going into combat; as if I was looking forward to fighting the Deceivers. But in truth...I knew I was going to die by them or some other means. When I fought them over Anapola...I had a realization. I just...didn't have it. I'd never had it and the battle was as quick and as merciless as I anticipated it to be. I never understood Baraka's obsession with that lead plane. The funny thing was...I don't think it was the lead plane that was doing the damage. When I was down there in that desert I had a lot of time to think about them. I felt humiliated. But then I had an epiphany. I realized where I'd seen them; I knew where I'd seen those flying styles. That pilot we found about that...Alou...isn't even the best pilot they've got. The truth is...the pilot that Baraka is obsessed with and his wingmen were veterans of that previous war. _

_They were the Ghosts of the Razgriz. The Demons of the Northern Sea._

_That flying style; I knew I'd seen it before. And I know you have as well. It was the usual two by two...flown by the Wings of Sand Island. Even though you've been here for awhile...even I know you know who they were. You had to be living under a rock not to know. I met them while you were ill. I talked to them...I saw them fly. That memory was burned in my mind. Then, in that desert...I blacked out and all could remember was that. I went nuts in the hospital. I had to get out. But since Baraka was being such a jerk to me and to Xalia...I wouldn't tell him. What good would it serve me to tell him about it? You and I are one of the few who knew about them...the Sand Island Aces. All this time I thought they were dead...and now they're still alive. They've got to be. _

_No one in the Osean Air Force was ever remotely as good as they were and now elite pilots are savaging our pilots...there is no doubt it is them. The legend has spread as it did back then. I thought they were dead...but what I think happened, and this idea came after some heavy medication, was that they may have gone into hiding and come back. I don't know why though. But...those pilots...they didn't strike me as people who loved war when I knew them. So why would they come back? I've been racking my brain trying to figure this out for three days. _

_But I supposed it wouldn't matter anyway. I knew my luck had run out when I realized them. And up to the night before I wrote this, I had dreams about my own death. It was the same thing over and over. I never told anybody because I didn't need any of Baraka's motivation or counseling or any bullshit like that. At the end, it was them. I saw them...the demons. That was when I realized my time was done. The next time I was going up into the air...I was finished. So I assume that you know what really happened. So I guess...I went gladly. What you think I thought when I died is irrelevant. I just wanted you to know why it happened. The only consolation is that we're all going to be in Hell together._

_- Alex._

Kaida nearly had a heart attack. _Of course! _He shook his head, almost in total disbelief...but he came back and finally tried to collect his thoughts. He merely sat down in the chair in front of him and stared at the wall. Kaida knew all too well the legend of the Ragzriz. It was all over the news in Osea. Now, they were back. They never were truly dead after all! Kaida closed his eyes. Alex had accepted his death...even if was by SAMs and not the Deceivers...rather the Razgriz.

Alex went up there knowing that he was going to die. He always seemed his cheerful, action-craving self. Kaida could only think about how much of a waste it was now. He shook his head in utter despair. The ironic thing was that despite the Deceivers being the central focus of the Versuans' attention, the Oseans had vastly improved their regular forces to a point where they weren't even needed sometimes.

It was all so wrong.

But Kaida wasn't going to lie down and die. Kaida had no intention of dying. They weren't going to kill him. His wife wouldn't be talking to her unborn child about its father in the past tense. That was not going to happen. He crumpled the letter and threw it away. He walked to the window and looked outside.

"So the Ghosts of Razgriz have returned. Fine...then I'll meet you where we all die someday." he said.

He turned away from the window and sat back down in the chair he was in. Ammon Kaida could only wait.

_**Nasriya, Versua**_

_**December 26, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

To most people, December 26th meant nothing. It only meant that it was four days until the New Year. But for the Sotoans, December 26th was the best day of the year. It was their July 4th, their Independence Day. The Sotoans called it "Vivas Aristad". For the Sotoans, they had been content with playing the underdog role in the Allied invasion. Soon, they would play the main stage. The Sotoans had been selected by Allied Command to be the first to liberate Valuria, if one could call it that.

Everyone knew that the Versuans in Valuria were hardcore White Crow loyalists. This time, the resistance wouldn't be there to aid them. They were going to have to make their own way, their own luck. The Oseans were concentrating on invading Disra, the industrial monster of a city that it was. The Oseans would help them out with an Army division of their own, and everyone on the Sotoan side knew the Oseans would take all the credit. And that alright with them; the Sotoans just wanted to be done with the war and go home.

None more so than Serena Batiste; Batiste was at yet another temporary highway airfield on the edge of yet another town in the sticks. She was merely sitting by herself inside the cool shade of one of the hangars. Batiste had been through the worst of the worst, surviving a dozen attacks by Dispater and several bases being destroyed. Over the course the war, she'd served with nine different squadrons of all three Allied nationalities. Serena had developed a nickname, "Nelo Muera" or "Grim Death". Everywhere she went, death followed.

Of the some 220 pilots she flew with, 158 of them were dead. A pilot had a seventy percent chance of dying when Serena was in the mix. Some tried to console her. Dispater did most of the damage. But it didn't help. She only used two things as a coping mechanism. One was the fact that despite the losses, she knew the Versuans were much hurting worse. And two was her family. She constantly kept looking at that old picture of picture of her husband Stephen, her two sons Mattias and Kiros, her mother, her father, and her dear brother Jacques, who was in the air force as well.

But Jacques was dead now, along with his whole squadron. She tried not to think about it, but she couldn't. Serena hated this country; it was nothing but a land of broken dreams and hearts. It was nothing but a land of death, destruction and oppression. But she never brought that up when she spoke her family though letters. She didn't want to cause them any worries to the macabre reality in his land. In one particular letter, Serena wrote to both her husband and her father:

_It's better here than in Yuktobania. They seem to want us here. It was. When we landed, people were all over me. They hugging and kissing me, giving me gifts. It was amazing._

"Captain Batiste! Look at this! Mira!" said Horace, a younger pilot who came running up to her. It was out of character for Horace, who usually was not an animated individual.

"What the hell is that?!" Serena said, getting up. Horace then led her outside and Serena didn't seem all that excited.

Serena looked to the horizon and saw what looked like a large plume of smoke. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. But Horace must have seen something that Serena did not. In that direction was the distant city of Valuria.

"They lit up their oil wells outside the city! There's smoke all on the horizon." said Horace.

"They lit up the oil wells? What...why would they do that?" said Serena in shock.

"There's another one going off! Look to the west!" said another pilot, Charen, looking at the scene as well. He had run up beside them.

"Two more! What are they doing that for?" Horace continued.

Serena had thought that her feelings about this country, while valid, were a bit callous and cynical. She admonished herself about her feelings, but now this display removed all the doubt she had.

"I hope this isn't a sign of things to come." said Horace turning toward his superior.

"When you've been at this as long as I have you start to believe in harbingers." said Serena without taking her eyes off the horizon.

Serena then saw a distant flash. She'd seen it plenty of times before. That damned Dispater had been quiet for some time. But it was still in the back of everyone's mind. That Dispater weapon was still that prying, murderous eye overlooking Valuria. They were the prying eyes of a hated regime.

Next: Chapter 19: The Sins of the Lone Wolf


	19. The Sins of the Lone Wolf

Chapter 19: The Sins of the Lone Wolf

"_...I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here. It didn't require any discipline to attain it. So you don't take responsibility for it." - Ian Malcolm, "Jurassic Park"_

Operation Constantine got off to a rocky start. Scorched earth or not, Valuria was attacked and the Allies were met with a furious defense. Precision guided strikes were called to bomb the oil wells to shut off the flow of oil. Valuria had been attacked on and off again by Allied forces for nearly three days. The attacks were mostly precision bombing missions against targets on the west side of the city. But they had been broken up by Dispater and heavy air interdiction. For the first time in awhile, the Versuans felt they had a legitimate shot at victory. But the Allies were planning to disabuse them of that notion...and _soon_.

_**Haleron Airport**_

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

Ammon Kaida was a paradox. He was a consummate, hard-working, and seemingly benign professional. He was of the gentle, romantic type who idolized flying. He loved Sasha Masson dearly. But he was also a misanthrope who had a serious problem with working with others. Many thought he was vain and selfish. He took the burden of war alone, having long abandoned the team concept. He had few friends in the air force as many others hated and envied him...and Ammon liked it that way. He was no Molina or Josen or Mora...but he was fine with it.

Kaida wasn't filthy rich, but he had plenty of cash; he was smart, savvy, glib and very attractive. And Kaida was not above using those assets for his own benefit. Very few people knew the real Ammon Kaida and most of them were dead, unfortunately. Xalia and Sasha Masson knew a lot about the man...but never the entire picture. In fact, no one knew the entire picture.

The real story of Ammon Kaida was one of addiction. He'd spent two years trying to suppress it. However, Ammon Kaida was, at his core, addicted to women.

Therein lied the great paradox of Ammon Kaida. Kaida was a rather benign person, and one who almost always tried to listen before he spoke. He was intensely dedicated. It was something his mother had banged into his head from birth. His mother had taught him a great many things. Some were wise life lessons and others were immoral opportunities. One of the primary lessons she gave Ammon was how to use his strengths as a weapon. His mother used her physical assets as a weapon to get what she wanted...and Kaida took those lessons to heart. Kaida had the money, the intelligence and the looks to melt a woman's heart. Why couldn't Ammon do the same thing?

Kaida was obsessed with women from the moment another girl kissed him at age twelve. So he focused his talents to acquiring what he wanted...the opposite sex. It wasn't that hard. Versuan women, for the most part, were treated like second class citizens. By age sixteen, he was a legend among his teenage peers. Ammon had refined the art of "charm". Kaida always interloped into bad relationships. He would look for guys who treated their girlfriend like excrement on their heels and secretly swoon them over. But Ammon learned to be up front with his relationship intentions (a lesson he learned the hard way as a teenager). By eighteen, Kaida had his own set of written rules for his trade. It was merely a long list of obvious dos and don'ts like..._don't hit, argue, or insult a woman_. Or _be sensitive and listen before responding._ But for all the rules, there was the cardinal rule: _If no one else knows it happened...it didn't happen._

Despite many of his former girlfriends keeping it quiet (mainly due to lavish gifts), rumors were still around and Kaida earned his reputation as a promiscuous playboy among his small circles. Of course, Ammon Kaida's unwillingness to work in groups and maintain his extremely small social circle earned him the reputation as a complete misanthrope. Kaida fired back, saying that most people were insipid and lazy in groups (and was right most of the time). But he had obvious ability.

One could think of Kaida as a manipulative, selfish sex-addicted misanthrope who "preyed" on the weak and abused with his charms...only to drop them for the next floozy that came along. However, Kaida never preyed on anyone. He simply established physical relationships with no strings attached. Then, when things went stale, he merely made a clean break and sought a new conquest.

Kaida laughed at those who judged him...after all, they were philanderers as well. He was up front, and there were no broken hearts. Besides, an attractive woman in Versua couldn't be choosy. It was better to have someone who wasn't committed than a abuser who treated a lady like property. Some would argue that Kaida was essentially doing the same...in a less cruel way.

But in reality, not a single woman who ever spent a night or two with Ammon Kaida had anything negative to say about him. Kaida's relationship with Xalia didn't even end it. Both admitted to seeing other people during their pure physical relationship. Of course, Kaida ended his promiscuous ways with Sasha's entrance into his life.

Well, not so fast...

Kaida's greatest strength was his greatest liability. He was too compassionate with the opposite sex. He hated to see them mistreated. Nothing drove Kaida more insane than a woman willingly staying in a bad relationship. He never even dreamed of mistreating Sasha; he cared too much for her. But, his flaws caught up with him when an old friend entered his life...and like so many other men before, fell into his own trap. Sasha had been evacuated; whisked away by government people when the attacks started.

Enter Captain Jaklyn Ors of the 13th Squadron, "Baal". Jaklyn had been fighting with several different squadrons all over the place. After surviving Yuktobania, the border wars, the Ceres Ocean, the Northern Deserts, the siege on Mt. Alve, Anapola, and Basra, she found herself at Valuria; at the same impromptu base as Ammon.

Jaklyn was Kaida's first flame when he was a teenager. They were childhood friends from Valuria's Northern Shore District. But both were similar in thought and what they desired. Both had options, both were smart, both had money, and both had attractiveness; they learned a lot from each other, rather than be repulsed by what they found out about themselves. Neither had been raised to be moralists anyway, and their parents were always in some kind of marital mess and ended up divorced. In every one of her bad relationships, Jaklyn took her revenge, screwing her way to the top of the relationship food chain.

In reality, both were merely rationalizing an immoral activity. They never admit it willingly...but both were, in fact, screwing their way to whatever they wanted. Though Ammon only wanted the physical pleasure. Jaklyn, who was single, wanted cash, gifts, whatever she wanted. They were powerful, they had the leverage, and they had the looks...

They were who they were by nature. It started like any affair would...

Jaklyn was a voluptuous, black haired woman about the same age as Ammon. She was, from a personality perspective, she was an androgyne-type of a woman. She was strong, feminine and endearing without the usual feminine naiveté or vulnerabilities. In combat she was a tomboy much like Dorian Daydenko, minus the misanthropy and cigarettes. But perhaps it was because she reminded Jaklyn a lot of Sasha...

Ammon always thought Ors never got her due. She'd survived for years in the VAF without a major promotion. Ors paid her dues just as Rahab, Bel, and Mephisto leaders. Ammon and Jaklyn had kept their friendship for nearly eleven years. Jaklyn was always the woman Ammon could count on when the times were low and vice versa. Jaklyn had survived serial misfortunes in her life and the war. They both spoke of late comrades from days gone, all casualties of this losing war. They shared friends, allies, former lovers, family members, brothers, sisters...

Things became emotional and they actually kissed each other for a very long time. Their vulnerabilities caught the best of them. The next day there was during a long, awkward pause in conversation. Afterwards, suddenly one thing led to another...

Neither could help themselves. _If no one else knows it happened...it didn't happen. _So it _didn't_ happen...right? Sasha was many miles away now. And if she didn't know anything about her father's regime...how would not knowing of a one night stand hurt her? And that was what tugged at his heart now. He'd gone back to his old self in two days. All it took was a childhood friend to bring him back to the dark side.

Even before now, Kaida had no regrets. He had produced a child; his family name would go on. His kid would have a good life. He never hurt Sasha; he never yelled at her, he never hit her, he never insulted her. He still loved her despite his flawed sense of compassion towards other females. Kaida still had his fame. He had money. He had his pride. And he still had a mission to do. If he died, he'd die well. But...then again, just because he had no regrets did not mean Kaida was going to die; or rather, die easily.

However, therein lay the ultimate tragedy; he still cared about Sasha. Kaida had gotten up that morning to the sight of Jaklyn combing her long black hair. He suddenly saw himself staring right at her...instead of Jaklyn. It felt like a stone hitting him in the chest. But Kaida did not let on. If there was one thing he was good at, it was burying his true feelings. Kaida felt sick...not because of Jaklyn, but because of himself. Kaida knew that Sasha was aware of his old reputation...if she found out now, when all of her father's empire was collapsing around her...

_Could this be it? _Kaida could only think that when he woke up and saw a partially clothed Jaklyn Ors. She flashed a cute smile at Kaida's waking eyes. She was only in a shirt and her underwear. Kaida wiped out his eyes as Jaklyn began climbing into her flight suit. His mind went into panic mode at first. But this was no dream. It was reality, just as the war had been.

"Morning." said Jaklyn brushing her long black hair. As soon as he saw her face, he thought of Sasha's own visage. He shook his head, and Jaklyn's own face returned. Kaida tried to conjure up some response; but nothing came out of his mouth.

"It was just so strange how it happened. It was like something out of a romance novel. I'm just glad I got another chance to experience the side that...you-know-who must enjoy." said Jaklyn putting the brush aside. Her smile was evil; her voice was like a succubus, beautiful and malevolent.

Jaklyn never mentioned Sasha's name; though she was worried he might call her name out...in the middle of the act by accident. But there were no such worries. To be honest, Jaklyn didn't care what Ammon thought about Sasha. She was just happy to finally see the old side of Ammon, something she'd been sorely missing for years. Though a part of her still knew it felt wrong.

"Well, I'm not like my cousin...I'll take being addicted to the bedroom than addicted to cocaine any day." said Ammon, referring to a relative. Despite all of Ammon's flaws, even he knew that Marko had all but wasted his life in drugs; a sad reality in many areas of Versua. Ammon tried to focus his mind not to let Jaklyn onto what he was really feeling.

"Well, this could be our last sortie...the way the war's going. Good thing we get to end it on a high note." said Jaklyn sitting back down on the bed. She scooted across the sheet to her newfound lover. Jaklyn started nibbling on Kaida's ear for a moment. Soon afterwards, she was brushing her lips along the side of his neck. Ammon became a bit defensive now as he tried to shrug her off…but for some reason, he...couldn't...quite...get his arm to do what his brain wanted him to do.

"No...I'm not buying it here. They are going to have to hunt me down and finish me off." he replied.

"I like that attitude." said Jaklyn with a smile. She got up off the bed and put on her flight jacket; she then threw Ammon's clothes to him.

"We've got combat patrol on the first draw in two hours." said Kaida. He tried to bury it for the time being by focusing on duty.

"Oh, come on...let me fly as your number two. It'll be a waste if you die alone up there. It's me! When's the last time we've flown together?" Jaklyn said with a coy smile.

Ammon almost never flew with others. He took the burden of war and death alone. But there were exceptions like Alex and Xalia...and Jaklyn. Therein laid another paradox about Kaida; he had his personal canons and he stuck by them..._unless_...someone he cared about was involved...and he would break them at a whim.

He'd already done that to an extent by sleeping with Jaklyn. Was letting her fly as her wing going to mitigate things? Kaida couldn't think straight...but he decided to go with it. He'd already messed up, he might as well commit to the mistake. Kaida was not one to dodge accountability. But he'd do anything for a childhood friend. Especially one he just slept with…

"Okay, okay...you can do it _this_ time." said Kaida.

As the spoke, air raid sirens went off all around the base.

"What's going on _now_?" Jaklyn said annoyed.

"Let's move!" Kaida said, quickly trying to get dressed.

When Kaida was in his days of his playboy years, he never tried to lead a double life. Now he suddenly was leading one and it made him sick. He'd tried to avoid that. He made the same mistake with Xalia and history repeated itself with Sasha. Kaida could only hope for victory now. He'd already started burning one bridge. But that did not matter. The Allies were coming. Kaida hoped "they" would show up as well.

_**Karbala, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

Kei Nagase and David Lovecraft had been living double lives for nearly two months...and it never got easier. David had been preoccupied with his new plane, an enviable, sleek Typhoon. Apparently, it was a spare somewhere and Lucien Jackson and his seemingly infinite connections managed to drum one up. It was rather special to David because it was his favorite plane six years ago.

Kei didn't begrudge him a bit because if he was the best pilot with the best plane...who wouldn't want that? The way Kei figured...it was an insurance policy for the squadron. Grimm had been flying his F-15 for some time and the two had performed exercises together. They were all inside the briefing room preparing for Operation Constantine, which was not going as smoothly as planned. As Grimm and David talked, Kei was suddenly approached by the "twisted sisters" of Polly Elbe and Lillian Izzo.

"Hey." said Polly sitting down near Kei. David was coming from the other side, but was still held up in conversation with Grimm.

"What do you bitches want?" Kei snidely asked the female pair. The greeting was horridly out of Kei's true character, but she was playing the role of Ava Sosabee after all...

"Oh, well, your husband's birthday is in a few days. We've got an idea..." said Polly.

"No...No strippers. End of discussion." Kei quickly countered.

"No, no...I've got an idea. A real creative thing." said Lillian.

"What do you mean?" asked Kei.

"Well, Cormorance found out he shares birthdays with Sueltana. But, he also found out some stuff about her parents. He got it from a guy he knew in Heirlark who was friends with a guy in the Yuke Air Force who lived in Ciudad." said Lillian.

"What did he find out?" asked Kei moving in closer to the pair.

"Apparently, Sueltana's parents were this guy's neighbors. He goes off to Osea to train. He comes home, the civil war starts. Apparently what happened was the area was caught up in a lot of fighting between military factions. A firestorm got started in the area by a napalm based IED or something. It burned up the entire area of rowhouses. The kids were in school at the time, so they were taken to shelters and the shelters were attacked, and she was shuffled from one shelter to another...and hence why she's been homeless for four years. They found a ton of people who were burned alive by that attack. The guy he spoke of lost his parents, lost his brothers. Damn shame." said Polly shaking her head.

"God...that's terrible!" Kei said. By now, David had sat down next to Kei.

"But we have a decision to make about her. What do we do with her when the war's over?" asked Lillian.

"Well, me and Jonathan could take her back to St. Hele...darn." said Kei noticing the approaching Lucien Jackson. "We'll talk about this later."

"Okay, people. I've got good news and bad news." said Jackson.

"What's the bad news?" said Andrew.

"Bad news is that the Sotoans can't crack the defensive line outside Valuria. That's not saying ill of our fellow frogs...I mean, Sotoans. But we're going to need to step in." said Jackson.

Jackson brought up the digital map of the city. The city was on two sides of a large lake separated by a large, single bridge.

"Valuria is a tough city to crack. It's not like Basra where we'll have resistance members to assist us. This city is filled with ultra-conservative White Crow members. Every building is a potential death trap. There are no friendly natives to be found in this place. The city's population has been cut in half to evacuation and due to the involvement of civilians in the fighting...High Command has voted on desperate measures." said Jackson followed with a long pause.

"We can't dawdle any longer. Valuria has to be taken by the end of today. As such, everyone in the city has been declared hostile. Now, don't take this the wrong way. It's more of a general statement for you guys. If it's not _obviously_ hostile, then don't shoot at it. But don't assume anything with these people. Again, we're not dealing with rational people. We're dealing with hardcore White Crow loyalists. Our goal is clear all resistance out of the city by sunset. They are dug in and they will not leave politely ladies and gentleman." Jackson said. Suddenly, he cracked a smile.

"And the good news. We've finally come up with an effective countermeasure to the Dispater." he said.

A chorus of quieted cheers could be heard and fist pumping could be seen. Jackson clicked a few keys on the computer and suddenly a massive image appeared on the main screen. It _looked_ like the X-9 Dis Capacitor. Only it was slightly smaller and of a black color.

"I give you the X-10 Leviticus. This device broadcasts a pirate signal to interrupt the Dispater high frequency electromagnetic waves. We're already testing the device as we speak. A bomber squadron is on the way to the area. They are equipped with this weapon. They are attempting to open up a hole for the ground units. But the ground troops have been taking some heavy damage from that dammed Tower. But thanks to this, we can balance the scales." said Jackson. An aide pulled up a map on the computer. It was a much more detailed map of the city.

"Your job will be to escort our own 154th Bomb Squadron, callsign Sisco, to the city on a precision bombing mission of targets inside the city. Areas of heavy troop concentration as best as we could figure." said Jackson. The map display went black.

"Stick close, and trust your allies. Don't get wild out there. We are confident this counter weapon will nullify the effects of their Dispater. But be careful out there...just in case something goes wrong with the Leviticus. Let's do this. We've lost of a lot good men to this damned weapon, and we are going to give them the shock of their lives." said Jackson.

Everyone began to walk out of the briefing room after the conclusion. Cormorance and Andrew was almost skipping; giddy with joy.

"Free fire zones? I like that. We get to blow up anything! I like it!" Andrew said, pumping his fist.

"Look we're not just blowing everything away. People do live there." Polly said.

"Well, no one's going to be living there when we're done with it." Cormorance said.

"For your sake, I hope not." Grimm snidely said. Cormorance merely scoffed and walked off to the dressing room.

"Pacifist jerk." Alou mumbled to himself, but loud enough for Grimm to hear. Grimm didn't even pay attention to the jibe.

Alou been forced to leave his wife Potenza worrying every night about him. His little children had to go through day after day of not having their father read bedtime stories to them. All so he could come over to this hell hole of a country he left so many years ago. Cormorance Alou would be _damned_ if he didn't get to blow up something.

As David and Kei walked out last, he forcefully pulled his wife aside for a chat.

"Free-fire zones? Are they crazy?" David asked Kei. Kei shook her head.

"I don't think anyone's going to get carried away. I hope." Kei quickly responded. She brought both of her hands and clasped them around David's right hand, raising it to her face. She then let go and let her hand brush the side of his cheek.

"You wrote hope on your hand for a reason." she said quietly.

"I'm not sure if its hope or hate anymore." David said hanging his head.

"Don't worry. There's an end to this. I know there is. And Catherine will be avenged...and so will everyone else that's lost their lives in this Hell." Kei said, resting her forehead against his chest for a long moment before breaking away and walking to the hangars. David could clearly see her wipe a tear from her eyes as she walked off.

David shook his head and his whole body shook as tried to shake off any thoughts about what could happen. He was still haunted by the Dresdene Incident. Kei was as well, but she was trying to keep herself loose. She didn't want to enter into combat too tense. But she did that in the face of her deceased child, and all the other terrors she'd seen. And their enemies were not helping matters...

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0823 hrs**_

Praeten Percival and Gabriella Zorba were working frenetically to prepare the Dispater for the coming battle. So far, things had been successful outside the city. The air defense was in place and was being used rather well. General Mortanus had shown he was capable of working miracles...unlike the late Rossi, whom everyone believed was killed by the terrorist network Southern Alliance.

A lot of heads began to roll in the Versuan military. Some were removed and some...disappeared like General Rossi. Of course, Percival knew the truth. The only question was: when was Portia going to make her move against her father? Percival knew that Portia had everything in place to make her move. The problem was General Ignis. Portia had wondered about Dimitri's intentions as he spent most of his time tied up in the massive, underground Demogorgon facility. Percival knew Ignis better than Portia and for once...that woman's paranoia had some valid ground. But at the moment, that was neither here nor there.

"Sir! We have contact in sector 329." said the radar operator.

"Another bomber formation; good, our first catch of the day." Zorba said. Percival laughed and shook his head.

"I got to hand it to the Allies. When that President Cohen gets an idea into her head..." Percival said. He looked at one of the radar screens.

"We've got confirmed contact with the enemy." said the technician.

"Excellent. Begin the transmission signal." Percival ordered.

"Sir...we're getting a lot of interference in the area. The signals being broadcast from those bombers are mimicking our own. There's heavy ECM jamming." said another computer operator.

Percival looked oddly at the screen.

"That _is_ strange. Usually bomber formations never have this much ECM coverage..." he said. He took a look at Zorba, who replied with an incredulous look of her own. He decided to continue with the operation anyway.

"Additional bombers incoming from the west! Approaching along our defensive line!" said the radar operator.

"Boost the signal. Drop it right on top of them!" Zorba said.

The technician continued to work with the dials and the computer panels. Soon, the mechanical voice signaling the countdown to the blast began. Dispater began to shake as usual as it readied its powerful electromagnetic signal. As Percival monitored the image on the computer screen, he smiled. Although it was the third time this had occurred, Percival still had a smile on his face every time the Allies came into their domain. There was no harm in civilian deaths where the bombers where...so the Dispater could be used at will.

But when the signal finally went down...something strange occurred. The pattern transmitted was a wide one, casting a wide area of electromagnetic death. But this time...it didn't do that. All around the bombers, massive radar circles appeared...and vanished. The bombers were still in the air. Percival was incredulous. If what he saw was correct...then the bombers must have found a way around the electric signals from the Tower. How could this happen? Was this a malfunction, Zorba thought?

"What the hell?!" one of the technicians said in total shock.

"It just bounced off?!" said one of the observing officers.

"Hit it again! Increase the signal to sixty percent!" Percival ordered. He had to be sure this was not a malfunction.

The operators began clicking commands into the computers. After the Tower shook yet again...nothing. The same thing happened! This time, there was nothing but larger circles on the radar. These radar anomalies were often called "Black Holes". It was a general term to describe the strange radar entities that appeared when Dispater was fired. But the Black Holes were generated on top of the enemy...not harmlessly to the side of them.

"This can't be happening! What did they do?! How could they have...?" Percival said. He was dumbfounded. Could the Allies have found a way to counter their ultimate weapon?

"This is impossible! They've been able to jam on an individual unit basis for some time...but never large groups like this! We've even boosted the frequency power! How could this be happening?!"

"Enemy bombers are launching cruise missiles! They're heading for downtown Valuria!" said the radar operator in a panic.

"Fighters are scrambling. But it'll be too late before the missiles hit their targets." said other officer, presumably the one who was keeping tabs on Valuria itself. After a tense couple of seconds, Valuria's anti-air defenses kicked on, but there were just _so _many cruise missiles and they were coming in so fast that the SAMs couldn't shoot them all down.

"SAMs are no good!" said the radar operator.

"Our defense line is being bombed as we speak! Enemy ground troops confirmed at Point 090. Approaching our right flank." said the secondary radar operator.

"Dammit. This is the worst time for this to happen!" said Percival.

This was a disaster in the making. Days past, those bombers would have never made it within the range of cruise missiles. Now there were firing with impunity. They tried a fourth time...but nothing. Neither the ones that had launched the missiles nor the bombers that had attacked their defensive line could be immediately stopped. The units on combat air patrol had swept aside by escorts. Now the only thing Command could do was put the fate of the city in the hands of the air force. Then again, the VAF had come through two days in a row over Valuria. Could they do it again?

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0830 hrs**_

_They took out Angel Bridge!_

_What the hell is going on!_

_Where did they come from?! Where is our anti-air support!_

_All units scramble! Enemy bomber formations detected at 12:00 and in the east!_

When Kaida heard the first panicked radio calls, he knew things were not going well. A massive group of bombers had broken through the Valuria air defense net and had begun savaging their outside defensive line. Another group had targeted specific troop formations in the city. As the pilots ran to their planes, Kaida was not worried at all. He'd done this several times over the past few days. The base was filled with rookies, castoff and survivors of other squadrons. People like Jaklyn, Mendenhall, Othello, Emmanuelle, Tark, Habib, etc.

Kaida was always the first to take off and the first to land. He'd gotten to about eleven thousand feet before Jaklyn caught up with him. Below them was the destroyed, smoking Angel Bridge. Several buildings in the large city had been hit by cruise missile attacks.

Jaklyn noticed that for some reason, Ammon had the words _Abandon All Hope _written on his fighter. Though, as she thought about it, it made since. This was their town...and the Allies were not going to get Valuria without a fight. Masson had broadcast his messages of encouragement over loudspeakers all over the city. But Jaklyn cared little for it. She did not need any extra motivation now.

"All units, this central command. We are under attack by multiple waves of bombers and fighters approaching from the north. The Allies apparently have figured out some method of countering the Dispater's attack. We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way. Luna 1, Incubus 1 and Baal 1 will command the defense." said the base over the radio. The main base was close to downtown. It wasn't the best choice, but since the Versuans had done well to hold off the Allies...it was a moot issue.

"All Baal units maintain the defensive line in the west." said Captain Mendenhall, who commanded the remnants of his squadron. There was no major rank left in the squad. In fact, Ammon was the highest ranked man at the Airport base. As such, he had command over his assigned area of attack. It was the first time he'd ever been in charge of anything major, which seemed strange given his personality. Ammon thought he'd be a terrible leader of men...but he'd proven his mettle over the past few days. However, it was mainly because he had no choice.

"Incubus One...you're actually flying with a wingman? I can't believe it. I think the world is coming to an end." said the voice of Gevin Malles, on the far side of the ruined bridge.

"Whatever. Just call us if you need us. We'll be in the middle." replied Ammon.

"Roger, all Zele units prepare to terminate any enemy forces over the bay." said Malles.

"Roger. Zele on standby. Preparing to launch in support of at the attack on the bombers." replied the Zele cruiser group, remnants of the Navy concentrated near the bridge.

Ammon scanned his radar hoping the ex-Razgriz was out there. He knew there was another wave of bombers in the rear. One turned away, its mission have been complete. He'd bet everything that the Deceivers were among that group. He wasn't even worried that Dispater was having some hiccups.

"So, they've come to greet us at the door. Jaklyn, it is time to clean house." said Ammon.

"Alright, let give these Allies a little lesson in manners." said Jaklyn.

Both of them flew from the center of the bay to the northern side of the city as the first salvos were being fired from the ground. In the distance explosions could be seen. The Allies were bringing the house this time for sure.

_**Approaching Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0845 hrs**_

David Lovecraft wondered if this war was going to become the bitterest wars in history. For the first time in his life, he felt a feeling of hatred from this land. David felt that the further the Allies pushed into Versua, the lonelier and more isolated it felt. Despite its high population, Versua felt like a vast and lonely place. The longer they stayed, the more and more the pilots of Wardog knew that they weren't wanted in this vicious, war-torn land. They had made their hook up with Sisco Bomb Squadron just a couple of dozen miles from Valurian airspace. The massive formation of B-52s stretched all over the sky. Escort fighters dodged in and out of the formation.

"This is Sisco 1 to all planes. Maintain bearing at Angels 25. We should be getting resistance as soon as the Sotoans are finished pulling out." said the female voice from the lead craft.

Andrew actually knew the lead pilot, but no one wanted to hear the story as it involved 2:30 AM, alcohol, a bar fight, hookers and police.

"Roger. This is Sisco 3. All groups report in." said the second plane, presumably the Squadron XO.

"Sisco 5. We've finished with the Leviticus preparations. Status is at default mode. Awaiting orders."

"Sisco 6-8 on standby. ECM at full charge." said another bomber.

"This is Sisco 9. Sisco 9 through 15 on standby."

"Sisco 16 through 25." said the trailing group.

"Roger. Wardog, stick close to Sisco 6." said the lead plane. Apparently, the woman was referring the ECM plane.

"This is Scion. We've detected nearly two dozen fighters taking off from the west. Shoot them down and maintain air superiority." the AWACS ordered.

"Roger...let's get 'em." David said.

David looked at Kei, and she signaled to him by blowing him a kiss. David smiled. If the enemy didn't want them...it was tough luck. The Razgriz had come to town and they were not going to be denied.

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0851 hrs**_

Ammon Kaida wasn't the biggest fan of BVR combat. But in this particular case, he wished he had the capability. He was equipped more for medium and close range fighting. He could have picked off a few of the Allied fighters easily. Then again, the Allies were using long range fighters as well. But they had more...and Ammon wished he'd thought about that contingency. Nevertheless, he had a mission to complete. The first wave of fighters had begun engaging the forces in the rear. With no one behind them to worry about, Ammon flew towards the bomber formation. He had anticipated the Razgriz to be in escort. This was the first time the enemy had attacked with a full squadron of twenty five bombers. There were also a ton of escorts. Some part of him was looking forward to this. But he couldn't quite determine their location.

"Where are you?" he said to himself.

After easily disposing of two regulars, Ammon had suddenly sighted a rather advanced looking plane. Almost the same time Ammon spotted it, the plane turned into him. It was a Typhoon. It was the first time he'd ever seen the Allies with one of these planes. It was time to duel.

"Jaklyn, cover the rear. I'll take this one myself." said Ammon.

"Roger." said Jaklyn.

As Jaklyn moved away, Ammon felt he may have made a tactical error. Another plane was on his wing, an F-14D. But those Tomcats handled like a tub compared to Kaida's own fighter. The Typhoon was moving similarly to the way the lead plane of the Deceivers did back over the Moab Madra. He'd studied film on them and realized they tended to fly the same way. There was a paradox about professionals. They always did the right things, but they always tended to do the _same_ things. It was a vulnerability that could be exploited. But this pilot did not give and nearly crossed Kaida's flight path, firing his cannons. Kaida had to move to avoid him and suddenly found himself on the Deceiver's tail.

"So it is you..." he said to himself.

David couldn't quite make out the enemy plane's designs. But he had a feeling that he'd seen this pilot before. Kei had a stronger feeling about it. He came alone; he flew in a seemingly wild and undisciplined manner and tended to keep close to the enemy planes. Kei knew she'd seen this type of flying style before.

"This guy is good. Ava...you stretch out. Let's trap him in the pincer!" said David, having quickly analyzed the situation.

"Roger!" Kei responded.

David and Kei began to break off as black smoke began to erupt around them. Anti air defenses were coming on. Fisch and Alou were trying to help deal with the anti-air defenses; but mainly they were looking for anything to blow up.

"We're getting flak!" Andrew shouted.

David slowed and turned to the left as Jaklyn suddenly cut in with another plane from above. David had dodged her attack and suddenly found himself behind the enemy plane. But Kaida planned against it and slowed to "let him pass", one of the oldest tricks in the book. But David had planned against that too.

He merely turned right, catching Kaida off guard...and then suddenly...he saw the long razor of Kei Nagase's Super Tomcat in the distance. Then, Kaida made another mistake. He decided to try for a quick lock with his "Alamo" missile. He'd fired, but as he tried to dodge and keep the semi-active radar on her, suddenly he had a missile alert! Kaida didn't panic. He decided to dodge right, to catch the enemy off guard while deploying flares. However, the Super Tomcat started firing long range.

Kaida was angry now. He'd been sucked into the "Anvil" tactic, something he'd been taught himself when he attended flight school in Osea. But just as he did that...

"Whoa!" he shouted.

Ammon almost collided into another plane when he turned right. He let out a sigh of relief. He was trying to ascertain the location of the F-14. But, his sudden two on one handicap was drowning out the reality around him. The Versuans were losing. The reserves and less experienced pilots were being beaten down by the aces and more experienced regulars of the enemy.

_I'm hit! _

_I'm going down! No response from..._

_The eject handle is stuck! I can't..._

Ammon tried to push the thoughts of the screaming out of his mind. Then he nearly forgot...the bombers! He couldn't get lost in this wild goose chase! He had to get the bombers and fast.

"Forget the fighters! Go straight for the bombers! Go now!" Ammon shouted.

As Ammon blew his way though one more fighter, bringing his daily kill total up to three, he noticed something strange on radar. As he and a few other planes had managed to work their way behind the bomber formation,

"This is base command. We've detected additional bombers and fighters on radar. From the west, from the east...Where did they get that many planes?" said the voice from command.

Kaida was not pleased with the news. More frustrating was the lack of self control. He'd expected it from rookies, but not Command.

"How many? I've got all kinds of jamming on the radar! Give me a number!" he heard a young pilot named Emmanuelle Ganda say.

"...you don't want to know." said the Command post after a long pause.

"What's that supposed to mean?! Imbeciles." said Ammon.

Suddenly, the horizon began to fill with the shadows. Missile alerts went for a dime a dozen. Everyone was panicking...except Ammon Kaida. Of course, he had to be calm. He had too many things on his mind (like a guilty conscience). Suddenly, Allied fighters filled the sky. There were so many it felt like a blanket of locusts.

"Where in the hell did _they_ come from!?" he heard Genda say.

"High speed bombers inbound! Lancers as I can figure. They're going to be coming in low! Wait...more fighters...where in the hell..." said the command post.

"Luna 1 here. You take care of the bombers. I'll go after the fighters around the center." said Malles, who had been defending the east. Malles would have gone after the Deceivers any other day, but his orders were to defend the city from the bombers and that was his job. So far, his unit had the most success, breaking up the bombing attack on their ground forces.

Ammon did not reply but did his request anyway. Ammon was suddenly swirling and diving, turning and turning and turning to avoid the constant enemy presence. But he still refused to let his mind wander. David had gotten behind Ammon again. But Ammon was not about to give up. Now Polly and Lillian, having defended several bombers from attack dove down on Ammon like vultures. Ammon quickly climbed and split them, avoiding their missiles. At this point, Ammon was sweating. His heart rate was jacked to the ceiling.

"Damn...this guy is tough!" Lillian said.

"Abandon all hope? Who the hell does this guy think he is? Let's waste the prick!" Polly shouted.

Ammon had to avoid the two Osean aces once again. It wasn't that hard. But then Ammon heard the unthinkable. Jaklyn had been hit. Kaida's blood turned to ice.

"I'm hit! Bastards got me!" she shouted.

"Get out of there!" Ammon shouted. He couldn't immediately see eject, but she did confirm it. So he had no choice to but accept it.

_Captain Mendenhall's been hit! Did he get out!_

_I can't maintain altitude! Fire on the left wing!_

Ammon tried to focus from those dying around him. He had to stay alive. As long as he stayed alive, he had a chance to win. Valuria would have a chance to survive. But, the flurry of thoughts in his head was too far to hold back. David then found himself in good position for a quick lock. He figured that was as good as anything...and Blaze took his shot with a AIM-9X Sidewinder. Suddenly, when Ammon Kaida was worried about Jaklyn...he then heard Sasha's voice and he froze. It was if she _knew_ he'd been unfaithful. He felt fear for the first time in a long time. It would be a terrible mistake.

_How could you do this to me! You bastard!_

Game Over. Blaze had bested Incubus as his Su-33 was now a write off. Kaida was now another casualty. He struggled to maintain his altitude. He found himself drifting to the outside of the city. There was no getting around it now. He'd screwed up again. The pressure and stress of what was going on forced him into a mistake. Now, Valuria was as good as dead. It didn't matter that Command was sending reinforcements. Kaida had lost the battle for his hometown. He pulled the lever and he flew right out of the burning plane. David had finally done that plane in, but in this case it didn't matter so much. The Allies had the momentum now. It was clear that Sisco was a diversion for the main attack.

"Excellent hit, Dragon." said Cormorance. But the congratulations didn't last long. It seemed like the Versuan High Command had become desperate. Much to the chagrin of the operators of Dispater, High Command ordered a last ditch desperate strike from Dispater. Never mind that the last several attacks didn't work. Never mind that the attack would put the entire downtown at risk. However, Percival wasn't stupid enough to countermand Morales. So it went...

"This is Sisco 5! We've got confirmed electromagnetic interference. They're opening up above our forces!" said the B-52 pilot.

"Damn! All planes evasive maneuvers!" Sisco shouted to the allied air armada. None of the bombers had time to evade. They were in the kill zone, dropping their precision-guided payloads on the designated strike areas.

"Initiating countermeasures! Five...four...three...two...one...!" said the B-52 operator.

By now, Kaida had already ejected and was floating to the ground. He could see the action above him. He wasn't sure about Jaklyn's fate. But she had ejected so he guessed that she was alright. But how could anyone be alright...after what happened next.

The purplish rays of death began to streak over the sky...and just as they did, they began to fly off in several different directions. Kei Nagase was amazed at the display. Not only did the weapon fail...it seemed rather beautiful to see the display when it did not do its deadly business. But that didn't last long. Sisco 5 had a problem...

"What's going on!? We've got..." said Sisco 5...before he was suddenly cut off.

As the blasts from Dispater were deflected, suddenly they found themselves bouncing off the air in places...as if it were some bizarre pinball game come to life. The blasts split and suddenly waves of purplish death...began to explode all around downtown Valuria. The blasts were going all over the place as fighters and bombers, enemy and friendly began to fall like dominoes. The blasts hit areas of downtown...and exploded all over the place. The ground shook as concussion waves were created all over the place. The entire downtown area was rocked with explosions and devastation.

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0858 hrs**_

Zorba was in total shock. She couldn't believe this. Whatever happened had created a series of concussion blasts that was shattering whole city areas. It wasn't because of the people who were hurt, Zorba didn't care about the common man...it was fact the bizarre reaction of Dispater happened at all. Percival was stunned himself. He was almost breathless.

"What the hell was that!?" he shouted, his voice booming thorough the entire room. "How could this have happened?" No one moved or said anything as no one had ever seen General Percival so angry before. Then again, most of them were shocked into silence. They couldn't believe it either.

"I've never seen an energy backwash like this before! Their jamming was interfering with our own it must have created...aftershocks of some kind. They were matching our frequencies and it was creating havoc with the Dispater!" said one of the operators, finally speaking up.

"It is a rare effect...a sort of sandwiching effect between wave frequencies. We experimented with it at Grunder. We called it the "Uniform Resonance"." said Zorba. Percval turned angrily to her. It was the first and last thing he needed to hear.

"I want to know everything about this effect. And we've got to find a way around this countermeasure fast." said Percival, his voice hitched and his head quickly turning to the panels.

"Command is ordering a retreat from Valuria." said the communications operator. Percival was incredulous.

"They order us to drop Dispater on it...and now they're just giving it up?" said Percival angrily.

"We have no air defense left in the area! The Allies took considerable casualties but most of our forces have been lost. There is no response from Captain Mendenhall, Commander Malles or Commander Kaida. No response from the GHQ either." said one of the adjutant officers.

Percival said nothing, spun around and left the room in anger. He was going to have a word with someone up at Command. But Zorba had a strange feeling. Zorba simply stood in awe of the power of the weapon she had helped create. She could imagine what its true limits were. Now that she'd seen this...she wondered if she could take this weapon to the next level. The first thing she had to do was find out about the Allied countermeasure.

_**Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**0900 hrs**_

The man formerly known as Blaze couldn't believe what he was seeing. The Dispater attack was about to erupt above them, but one of the craft carrying the Leviticus was close by. As they had done before, the blasts deflected...but for some reason it bounced off and created a ton of concussion blasts that erupted all over the southern part of the city, on the ground and in the air. The buildings below were shattered into millions of pieces as death rained down from above. For a few callous flyers, it seemed somewhat fitting that their greatest city would be destroyed by their own weapon. However, the ones who knew the truth realized that there was no one group to take the blame.

"What in God's name was that?!" Lillian asked the group.

"Jesus Christ! I've never seen them do this before." Andrew added.

"Whole city blocks have been wiped out! What the hell?!" said Polly.

"This is Scion, all Allied units stand by for a status report." the AWACS.

"Where is Sisco 5? What happened to them!?" said one of the Sisco aircraft that had been lucky to escape the damage. But most were not. Almost all of the Sisco aircraft were lost including the leader.

Cormornace Alou didn't know about the casualties...nor did he care at the moment. This place was nothing more than a land of decadence. He'd recently heard the tales of the rise of the White Crow and all the terrible things that occurred here. He'd let Valuria burn for all he cared. All of Versua was cesspool and they deserved what they got.

"This is Scion. All Allied craft are to withdraw from the local airspace until the exact situation is ascertained."

"No problem with that. Alright, let's get the hell out of here!" Cormorance said. "The Devil can have this place for all I care."

David became sick now. It wasn't so much that the city was destroyed...it was how it was destroyed. No one knew the exact details of what occurred when the Leviticus took on the Dispater. Lucien had warned them that there could be unexpected results. David now knew he was right. But then again, the Versuans were just as much to blame. They were welding their super weapon like some kind of toy now. It may have been due to desperation, but this callous and undisciplined use of their weapon was driving Blaze insane. And it was this weapon that had killed their daughter all those weeks ago. It all felt so wrong. Now he was certain that this hellish land did not want them there.

_**Outskirts of Valuria, Versua**_

_**December 30, 2016**_

_**1040 hrs**_

It didn't take long for the Allies to regroup. Valuria collapsed in that bizarre showing of Dispater. No one knew exactly what happened, but as with the Ceres Ocean, it served as deus ex machina of sorts. Whole areas of the city were flattened. Electronics were shot and radios were useless. Magnetic interference was everywhere, an unseen side effect of the strange electromagnetic blast over the city. Retreating units were hunted down and annihilated.

Not that it mattered to Ammon Kaida who'd been bested by the Deceivers yet again. It was the second time he'd been shot down. He narrowly avoided that fate in Basra...but this time his luck ran out. Now with the airport and all the bases out of commission, Kaida and the few that were with him were forced to walk along a dirt road to the next base. Above, allied aircraft were savaging the retreating forces, but so far...Kaida and his band were still alive. Sasha was alive and well too having been evacuated days ago.

_Sasha..._

He could only blame himself for his transgressions. Kaida could only blame himself for the defeat and the deaths of so many people. He made a mistake and paid for it. He paid for it with his right eye. The shrapnel from that wildcat Dispater blast did the work as he tried to run for cover. One of the medics he ran into treated it as best he could before being forced to evacuate. He used quick antiseptic method, and the medic performed a rather painful removal of the dead, bloody right eye. The medic put a piece of gauze over the horrible wound. Now it was blood red. He could only curse his enemies now.

But he wasn't the only one retreating. With him were the few survivors of the blitz attack, Jaklyn Ors, as well as Othello Harem, Emmanuelle Ganda, and Fritz Mendenhall from two other squadrons. In the distance, the smoke from the city could be seen for miles. After nearly a tense hour of running, the exhausted quintet continued up the lonely dirt road. All around were the remains of burning cars, tanks, and downed aircraft as the Allied forces tore through the retreating Versuan units. Losing the city was bad...but the retreat was worse. They were literally walking along a road of death. No one had spoken for nearly half an hour.

"I can't believe we lost the Ivory City. We couldn't hold it for one more day." said Kaida, his head hung low in disgust.

"It couldn't be helped. We'll get them next time." said Jaklyn putting a hand on his shoulder.

"There may not _be_ a next time." said the always cynical Othello.

Kaida shook his head and lamented the entire affair. He'd lost the battle, twice cheated on Sasha, lost to the Razgriz, so many brave Valurian defenders were gone. The Versuans had been swept from the sky. And Kaida could blame no one but himself. It wasn't the Razgriz or the Deceivers who screwed it all up. Ammon Kaida screwed it all up, literally and metaphorically. No one spoke for some time after that. Kaida then looked at the dusty, tired Jaklyn.

He cursed himself. For a single night, he'd been torn between two lovers. He'd buried the thought in battle and now that the battle was over...he had no choice but to confront it. There was no getting out of this one. To do so would have been to circumvent everything he believed. Then again, he'd broken his own beliefs once or twice over. But now, Kaida was tired of being a pragmatist. As he walked in defeat, he looked back over his life...and he decided that a womanizer-at-heart like him didn't deserve Sasha at all. He'd spent so long trying to be something he was not...and now it had came back to haunt him.

"I screwed up big time. Sasha's going to be furious. This could be the end of our relationship. I've had some close calls before but I've never went back over...until now." Kaida said off the cuff to Jaklyn.

At this point, he didn't care who heard him speak; though Mendenhall, Othello, and Emma didn't really care. Jaklyn liked that old, smooth, womanizing Kaida. She'd sorely missed him and she thought she had him back. But the guilty pangs of his conscience were ruining it all.

"She doesn't have to know anything. To be honest, I've missed the old you. I'm sure a lot of women have." said Jaklyn with his smile.

She knew he cared about Sasha. But he'd dug himself into a hole and admitted it, to Ammon's credit. She knew Ammon would go astray at some point because they were alike.

"It's different now! I made promises I knew I couldn't keep. But I tried...I tried, didn't I?" said Ammon, eyes and hands darting around. He sounded desperate and worried.

"Yeah, you tried. It just didn't work out that way." said Jaklyn.

"And I've never lied to her...I can't start now. If I lie now and someone finds out...then...she _despises_ being lied to more than anything. I've got to come clean. But...that could end it. All these nights worrying about me will mean nothing." said Kaida.

"I can't make your decision for you. But whatever you decide, I'll have your back. But if you tell the truth...don't mention my name." Jaklyn responded, being a bit pragmatic.

"What a mess I've made; this whole world is coming down around us. " said Kaida sadly.

"This whole war is a mess." said Mendenhall, discouraged.

The five walked down the road for some time, past destroyed more vehicles and as they came to a dirt intersection, a van suddenly appeared along the eastern way. Tired of walking, the always complaining Emmanuelle flagged down the van. It was a dark blue van covered in dust.

"Hey!" Emma shouted to the van, waving her arms.

The van stopped some thirty feet from Emma. Mendenhall put his hand on his sidearm and so did Kaida. One had to be careful of dealing with civilians these days. Emma came to the opening, and asked the man if they have a lift to the nearest town. But Emma noticed that the man was moving his hands. Suddenly, Kaida's keen eyes saw something in the back. It looked like a man with a gun! But Emma moved to the right a bit as the man spoke...and she saw the butt of a gun underneath the dashboard...and the guy reaching for it!

"Gun!" she shouted. She tried to reach for her sidearm, but it didn't budge! _Not good_, she thought.

Emma dove out of the way to avoid a spray of buckshot from the car. Kaida had seen the woman pulling out a shotgun just as Emma did. Instinctively, the others began to make evasive moves as Kaida unloaded on the passenger side. The driver had gotten off another shot, splashing a massive amount of dirt near Emma. The driver had jumped out with his own gun. But the same time he did that Emma jumped into a ditch and fired off one shot missing her again.

"_Dasave Murete Devio_!" he shouted as he did that. They were members of the Southern Alliance. _Traitors._

Kaida took aim without hesitation and put a hollow point between his eyes. The passenger was hit, but not severely. Suddenly, another man jumped out.

"Death to the White Crows!" the wounded passenger said, but Mendenhall finished her off. The other adult passenger, yelling the same thing as the driver, was shot almost immediately by Jaklyn and finished off with a point blank shot by Othello. Suddenly, a teenage girl jumped out...but was unarmed. She was screaming in a local dialect no one cared to understand. She simply stood there, until Emma fired a shot into the air and the girl ran off sobbing uncontrollably.

Kaida was shaking a bit...until Jaklyn came up and grabbed him by the arm.

"Are you alright?" she asked. He was still shaking.

"Who the hell were they?!" Othello asked.

"They were resistance members; fucking traitors." Jaklyn said, spitting on the ground in disgust. Othello came over and looked at Kaida's dead aim head shot. The blood was all over the dusty ground.

"That was a good shot Commander. I guess flying is not your only strong suit." Othello said.

"...I just killed a little girl's father right in front of her!" said Ammon strongly.

"So what? He had a gun and he was shooting at us! You did the right thing." Mendenhall replied. "Come on...we've got to go."

Everyone began to pile into the abandoned van. There was blood on the passenger seat and the door. But at least they had a vehicle and the Allies didn't shoot civilian vehicles. Next stop: Disra or Bust. With a little direction finding, the group began to drive east to the "Black Iron Sea", the oil and mineral deposits around Disra. The ride was long and arduous.

"What have I done?" said Kaida. Kaida had spent adult his life in planes. Ground war was nasty, gritty and something that was an alien idea. But he still acted in the face of danger.

"Look...it's messed up, I know, but...if you didn't shoot one of us would probably be hurt or dead." Jaklyn said. She was right after all.

"Goddamn it. I've screwed it up big time, haven't I? My whole life is a sham." said Kaida sadly. He was still shaking from the engagement.

"Don't worry. You're going to be okay. We're going to be okay." said Jaklyn, taking her right hand and holding Ammon's left and put her left hand on his shoulder. No one spoke for a long time after that until...

"God, I hate retreating." Emmanuelle said out of the blue.

"We're not retreating...we're just advancing in a lateral direction." said Mendenhall in a comical tone.

"We better to get used to it." said Kaida.

He stared listlessly out of the window. He imagined that somewhere where the Allies were stationed, those pilots from the Demons of Razgriz were laughing at Kaida's misfortunes. Versua was on the verge of complete collapse. Kaida thought about the hell storm he was going to get from Sasha, Xalia, and everyone else for the truth.

At this rate, all he was going to have left was Jaklyn...and that wasn't even guaranteed. But Ammon Kaida never avoided accountability. The only question was when he would tell her. Perhaps things would be better this way. He hoped Sasha would leave him now...so she'd be spared her pain. Kaida had accepted his fate and he had no regrets. The only thing he could do...the only thing he knew how to do was to fly and fight. And that was what he intended to do...even if it meant dying. He still had a job to do. But at this point, it was all that was keeping him motivated.

For the Versuans, times were desperate and everything was in agony. Everything was falling apart and it wouldn't be long before some began to turn on each other. The Allies had finally found a way to shift the balance of power back to their side. To the eternal horror of Command...Dispater could be kept in check.

For the Allies, the entire nation of Versua seemed to be parting wide open to let them through. Despite what happened in Valuria, the victory was one...in a rather bizarre method. Morale was high and the Allies prepared to attack Disra, the industrial heartland of Versua. The fall of Disra would be the final nail in the coffin for the White Crow.

The problem was...things _rarely_ went according to plan.

Next: Chapter 20: The Angel of Death (Part I)


	20. The Angel of Death, Part I

Chapter 20: The Angel of Death (Part I)

"_He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity. He who kills with the sword must be killed by the sword." Revelations 13:10 (NKJV)_

_**Karbala, Versua**_

_**January 2, 2017**_

_**0800 hrs**_

Kei Nagase couldn't be more furious to see these corporate people at the base. Cormorance Alou and Andrew Fisch couldn't be happier to see these people. _They_ should not have been at the base. But, with Jackson and his men working out the kinks in the Leviticus, there was nothing to stop _them_ from coming. Now the truth of the war was being revealed to everyone...and Kei Nagase thought it was rather insulting.

The tragic mishap, if one could call it that, in Valuria was the tell tale of the war. The city was in ruins and the Allies had all but bypassed the city. For some strange reason, Command had declared that it had no strategic value anymore. Of course, most smart people knew why. Of course, medical help was provided for the thousands of people injured and the millions that had been displaced. The official death toll from the wildcat burst from the Dispater/Leviticus duel was approaching a staggering forty thousand. What happened depended on which side's military command was asked. Allied Command had determined that the Leviticus and the Dispater produced a rare effect at their highest frequencies. Versuan High Command had determined that the Leviticus may have malfunctioned at the critical moment of the tragic incident. Whatever really happened, it was a watershed moment for both sides.

People back home in Osea were appalled at the loss of life. However, they were worried about their own soldiers. The death toll was already approaching nearly four thousand, and the wounded in action counts were rather grievous as well; such was the brutal reality of the Dispater weapon. The Versuan people were suffering on a magnitude that was utterly staggering; but no one in Osea really cared. President Cohen, her supporters, and her generals were not going to stop until the White Crow was utterly destroyed or the enemy surrendered unconditionally. It was clear that Masson was not going to give up either.

In a strange paradox, Command was playing it safe. Long range attacks on the Dispater had failed simply because of the extremely tough defensive net surrounding the weapon of mass destruction. But the attacks had revealed the extent of the Dispater's defenses. It was defended by a large network of anti air defenses, three airfields, and electromagnetic jammers. Plus, the Christos area was just a remote location in a mountainous area, making a ground attack impossible. Cruise missiles were intercepted by a rather skilled air squadron.

But Osean people were getting impatient; however, that wasn't the only problem Command was facing. Despite President Cohen's compassionate words, liberal detractors claimed the war was merely for Versua's resources rather than the liberation of the people of this country. It didn't help that one of Cohen's primary supporters was Anthony Bogart, the head of the Cylaron Energy Corporation.

Cylaron only _happened_ to be the biggest oil contractor in the Osean Federation. However, it was thought that Cylaron had fallen on hard times with the economic shaping during the Harling Administration. They had not quite recovered and since the war with Versua had become one of necessity anyway, the liberal argument fell flat.

But the truth was that Cylaron was involving itself rather openly during the war...and many Osean soldiers, many of whom were outspoken supporters of the Madam President, could have cared or less. Now several of Cylaron's contractors were here inspecting the area. With the electromagnetic protection in place, the Osean army could act in relative freedom at the front line. Wardog had been given the day off as everyone prepared for Operation Iron Sea, a thrust into the industrial heartland of Versua...the city of Disra.

Cormorance and Fisch had taken the time to go into town to see the local fair. With them they took Sueltana, as David was tied up with some mechanical issue with his new plane. But they were not in town only to have a good time. They actually attended an impromptu shareholder's meeting for off-duty military personnel who had stock in Cylaron, or their spouses who had stock as well. It was actually just a motivational party for the troops, many of whom had lost dear friends and relatives in this bitter struggle. They would have gotten away with it, had Sueltana not opened her mouth about it. But who could blame her?

Sueltana had a grand time; meeting people she'd seen before, tasting things she'd never tasted, seeing things like ultra high definition displays, and much more. When she excitedly told Kei and David...Kei was outraged because she knew what their true motives were now. She knew why Andrew and Comorance were so indifferent about the war. They had corporate cash riding on it; the sooner the war ended, the sooner they could get their payoff when Big Oil moved in. It was enough to make her sick.

And yet, Kei knew all too well could not be sanctimonious about it. She'd sold out her own beliefs to take revenge on the Versuans for her daughter's death. She seemed rather insulted. Many of the allied pilots were hanging around this area, including some of the Sotoans, and a few Yukes that had landed her as well. The base was yet another piece of road, with everyone using tents for homes. However, at least in this part of the country the sand was not so bad. So Kei and David walked over to the tent where one of the Cylaron reps was talking to Cormorance and several other pilots. Serena Batiste, Polly Elbe, Lillian Izzo, Andrew Fisch, and even Hans Grimm were also listening to this attractive sales representative.

Kei joked that Lillian, given her ambiguous sexual orientation, was probably paying as much attention to the words as the other guys were; which was to say absolutely none. Of course, who honestly _wouldn't_ be mesmerized with this saleswoman's stop-traffic looks? But this woman seemed totally out of place. It was ironic since Lucien Jackson would not allow media around the squadron...but they let sales reps from a major oil company come to the base? It all sounded fishy to Kei Nagase. It was almost as if Lucien had a business stake in all this…and Wardog was their insurance policy.

Kei had to give the woman credit. She could see the bulkiness of the kevlar vest beneath her suit. This woman's speech was mostly asking about how the war went. She never once brought up the company or business. She asked about their spouses, their kids, their cars, their general home lives. She did not seem condescending at all. She was rather nice. After the Q & A session, she gave the Oseans pamphlets about Cylaron and promptly left. Soon some of the foreign pilots left, and that left David and Kei alone with Grimm, Lillian, Polly, Andrew and Cormorance. Kei didn't waste any time walking over and nearly pulling Cormorance by his collar. She almost blindsided him completely and caused him to fall backwards over a chair.

"You've got stock in Cylaron? You're linked to same company whose sales reps are convincing you to whore yourselves out for money? Money that's going to be stolen from this country?" said Kei angrily.

"Hey, calm down Ava! It's no big deal." said David getting in her way. David did not want Kei to raise a huge scene. While he did agree with her points, doing this could give away their double lives. Cormorance picked himself off the ground. However, he didn't look enraged.

"So what? It's legal. Besides, I got to have some income, don't I? It's the Osean way." said Cormorance. He sounded callous and dismissive. But Kei wasn't the only one who seemed put off by this.

"And when were you going to tell us this?" Lillian said.

"I was hoping never. I think bringing that girl was a strategic error." said Cormorance, almost half-heartedly guilty after-the-fact.

"You're damn right it was. I mean, she had fun but...I knew something was going to go wrong." said Fisch.

"Well, she had a good time. It wasn't all bad. She's a sweet kid...big mouthed sweet kid, but a sweet kid nonetheless." said Cormorance.

"I can't believe you two! God, I thought we were here to help these people and get rid of this horrid regime that would use their own mega...colossal...tower...or whatever against them! You're here just to get paid." said Lillian. Cormorance became aggressive at this point and approached Lillian with a dismissive, waving finger.

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm breaking any hearts here, but yes. Isn't that the Osean way? Work harder for your money and you get more stuff? Besides, my wife has the stock, I've got friends who've got stocks in other companies..." said Cormorance.

"Well, I suppose if he's going to have more kids then..." said David, bringing up what Cormorance said weeks ago. Alou smiled.

"Thank you! Finally someone who gets it!" said Cormorance.

"But...I just never took you for the business type Captain." said Grimm. Grimm realized what David was trying to do as Kei was turning purple now and he had to diffuse this situation. But Alou prepared to leave, when he turned to both Hans Grimm and Kei Nagase and said...

"Oh, I'm a businessman alright, Mr. Preston. But I wouldn't worry about the oil, Ava. Just be thankful my primary business is death."

Cormorance left the room and a strangely quiet Polly did as well. Kei couldn't believe what she was hearing, which was ironic because she once appreciated his consummate skills; and he was right...his job was to kill, period dot.

"That was one bad ass way of putting it. _The Businessman of Death_. That's what they called him at Heirlark." said Andrew.

Kei angrily left the tent after he said that, David following her. She unfurled the opening to her own tent as she walked in and sat down on one of the cots she had laid out and let out an exasperated sigh. As David walked in, she took a long pause before she spoke.

"_My primary business is death_," said Kei, imitating Cormorance's nasal tone, "Why do I even bother? Sometimes I wonder if he cares about anyone else but himself."

Cormorance Alou was just not a good human being after all. Kei _knew_ she was a better person than Cormorance. However, her husband was about to be the judge of that.

"That's a broad statement. He just doesn't care about our enemy. The same way you did not at one time...remember?" said David. Kei could hear a proverbial record scratch in her mind.

"Are you saying I'm being a hypocrite?" Kei asked, almost judgmental. Kei looked at her husband in total contempt, as if to say, _how dare you ask me that question?_

"In a manner of speaking; I mean...wasn't it you who said, _where have you been for the last few weeks? _Do you even remember that spiel?" said David after a long pause. Kei turned around and shook her head.

Kei cursed out loud; and a rather nasty curse at that. She said nothing to protest; a silent admission that her husband had been correct in his analysis.

"Masson. I would give just about anything to go right up to that bastard and stab him in the heart with an _ice pick_." said Kei, her voice vicious and callous.

"You and me both." David said sitting down next to her. Neither spoke for some time, a strange bit of uncomfortable silence between the two. Suddenly, there was the sound of screaming. Kei knew immediately who it was. That was the excitable Sebastian Navarro, her F-14's backseat "wizzo". He was running around with his arms outstretched, and several others were doing the same thing. She walked up to him and stopped him rather forcefully,

"What's going on?" Kei asked him.

"Wooo! It's a celebration people! Wooo!" said Sebastian, still excited. Kei looked at him as if he needed his head examined.

"Calm down, Sebastian! What in blazes is going on?!" asked Kei. Sebastian climbed on top of a jeep that was nearby the area. Everyone began to rally around him, including those who knew ahead of time.

"Ladies and gentleman, I have an announcement to make! We've just gotten word from Allied Command that Operation Iron Sea has been cancelled! Disra has demilitarized! They're surrendering!" Navarro shouted.

Suddenly, the issues with Cylaron faded away. Navarro would have known of course, considering that he was up at Base Command getting the combat maps from the brass up there.

"Well, finally we got some good news!" David said. Kei was suddenly full of life. If only this had happened during the last war but...there was the now, and now it was time to be full of joy. Because with Disra gone, the nails in the coffin were being nailed down even more. The end of the war was approaching.

"This does call for a celebration." Kei said.

Kei couldn't help herself and just kissed David right in front of the others. It was no surprise of course save just the public display. They almost always kept their affections a secret.

Lillian was standing behind both of them and it was...rather hard to describe what she was doing. She was making this obscene gesture with her index and middle fingers, poking her tongue through her exposed fingers; all with a goofy face, a laugh and rolling eyes. David saw this bizarre display once, though Kei didn't care too much. It was some strange a term of admiration for this sudden make-out session. Of course, everyone brushed it off considering that everyone knew that Lillian Izzo was a _very_ strange woman. All except Serena Batiste...as wondered if this Lillian actually needed to have her head examined.

"Faura masi...what in the hell are you doing Lillian?" asked Serena in her nasal Sotoan accent.

"I'm just acknowledging the love in our presence." Lillian said. Serena nodded oddly having deduced that it must have been some Osean gesture implying a rather obscene sensual act.

Of course, the jubilant mood was infectious. Everyone was whooping and hollering, slapping each other on the back, and giving high fives. Kei finally broke the kiss, and she was mugged by Lillian again, and still barely kept her from trying to make out with her. Polly wanted to hug Kei too, but Kei backed away, not wanting anymore feminine affection from this giant of a woman. David always thought it was funny as hell.

"I wanted to blow up something but...I guess a cancelled fight is a good one." said Cormorance.

Kei smiled at her husband, the bad taste washed away now.

"You know just when I thought the enemy had no soul...they prove me wrong." said Kei with a smile.

"Let's not get too hasty...remember the war isn't over. Masson is still running this country...and I think things are not going to be too peachy in that House." said David.

He could not be more correct.

_**Casta van Veranna**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**00 hrs**_

Sasha Masson's world and her family's lofty perch above the country were falling apart faster than Hollywood marriage. It had been the end of a terrible week for Sasha, and things were going to get worse. It was her twenty second birthday, and there was no cheery mood to be had. At least, Portia and her father had no reason to celebrate anything. And in reality, Sasha had little to celebrate either.

William Masson could not contain his rage at the Disra situation. It was almost as if the tragedy of Valuria was forgotten. But then again, Sasha knew her father had a short memory. His life was based on the principle of 'what have you done for me lately'. Valuria was absolutely terrible. Her mother's home had been destroyed by Allied bombs. Her hometown was in ruins. Forty thousand people, and counting, had lost their lives. All because of that dammed Tower her father put so much stock in. Sure he said it was an accident, but now Sasha could only just contain her rage. Sasha wanted something, anyone to just yell and scream at; she needed something to placate her rage. The rage at the world she was in, her rage at everyone and everything. She almost found herself hating everything she cared for. It was all indicative of the hard times Versua was now facing.

Her husband was missing in action and Xalia was involved in some battle and hadn't been heard from since Disra collapsed. And Disra was simply embarrassing to the High Command. It created so much vitriol that one of their own would simply surrender to the Allies. To make things worse, Disra was the industrial heartland of the country! Sasha knew that her father's dream was finished. Sasha saw the writing on the wall...and yet the people that she loved and respected couldn't stop themselves from this self-destruction. They were determined to die on their feet rather than live at the mercy of the Oseans. Now Sasha had heard rumors of Osean oil contractors coming to Versua. The game was over. Big Oil was here. The White Crow was done.

And that was what drove Sasha insane. But she had no power in the family. She'd only been allowed inside the circle of trust because her last name was simply Masson. She knew nothing of 

military tactics or strategy or their terms. But Sasha was probably the last person with common sense left in the Versuan's circle of government.

Her father went berserk when Disra surrendered. He received the news when he was merely having a word with Sasha. It was supposed to be a precious heart to heart between father and daughter. Something that Sasha had to admit she sorely missed. But when the news arrived, her father transformed in a single second. He was turning over tables, cursing, and Sasha was escorted out by her father's men. It wasn't sadness...it was rage at his own men. Not at the Allies, where the hate should have been directed.

_Those bastards! How dare they!? How dare they bring down my dream! Traitors...they're all traitors to our cause!_

Her father's Pentecostal-like, border-line insane ranting was a watershed moment for Sasha. It was clear that things were going to end in a terrible way. Her father would not stop the bloodshed because of his own elite ego. So many people were going to die senselessly and no one cared! They were all too egotistical to realize it. Now Xalia and her husband could have been casualties...and it would all be her father's fault. So Sasha turned her back on it all...and prepared to leave the Casta. She wanted to go somewhere, anywhere but home. She was going to check into a rather glitzy hotel for the evening, far away from her family. Her only regret was that she couldn't crack a few daiquiris while she was there. She didn't want her unborn child to be a disfigured mess.

As she walked out, she suddenly encountered the only person that understood her...Dise Graysel. She ran up to him and gave him the largest hug. She almost knocked him over, which was not good for a man in his late fifties.

"Uncle! It's so good to see you!" said Sasha, excited. Sasha suddenly felt all the goose bumps all around her body.

"I'm so glad you're alright. I heard about what happened in Valuria...just terrible. It's only fortunate your mother could not witness this." said Graysel. Sasha frowned.

"No, I wish she could. I still miss her after all these years. If only I knew what really happened to her..." said Sasha, trailing off in thought.

"No one knows; but, she went peacefully. She's still looking over us." said Graysel, trying to comfort her. Sasha shook her head and put a hand on her uncle's shoulder.

"Thank you. You've made my birthday almost tolerable...just by being here. It's...it's...just...it's just been a really shitty week for me, okay? Pardon my terrible language but...I'm just drained by all this." said Sasha, with multiple emotions in her soul. Graysel embraced his niece.

"I understand. You're a young, beautiful woman. You have so many good years ahead of you and soon you'll be a wonderful mother...just like your own. As for Ammon, I've learned that he's somewhere in Cabu, fifty miles south of Disra. But, we've no word from Xalia. Apparently, she was fighting above Disra when she disappeared. We're not sure if she's alive or dead, but I'll get on the case as soon as I finish meeting with your father." Graysel said.

"Thank you." said Sasha softly.

Sasha began to walk toward her car when Graysel suddenly stopped her again.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have the UMD you requested. Sorry it took me so long...but consider a birthday gift." he said.

Graysel gave her the small disc and on it was written the names of several song titles such as _Out of the Fire, Black Eyed Devil, Frenzy, Jimmy The Exploder, One More Time..._

But Sasha's eyes lit up when she saw the last one: _Face of the Coin_.

"Ah...thank you dearly! I've been waiting for years to hear these songs again." Sasha said, kissing her uncle on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

Sasha smiled and got into her car. She almost crawled on the seats to the front seat of the limo and inserted the disc into the drive. The driver was almost bewildered when he heard the guitar riffs and melodious singing of _Face of the Coin_ emerge from the player. She heard it many times when she was in North Point, and she was looking forward to hearing that rather popular song again. Sasha had clearly changed her opinion of cars. It was far too dangerous to fly anywhere now. But at least if she was going to ride in a car...she was going to do it to the tune of a good song.

"God, I've missed this song. I love this sound. It really calms me down." she said directly to the driver.

Meanwhile, Portia was looking outside the window as Graysel and Sasha hugged each other and she left in her black limo. The armed convoy flanked her vehicle as they all left as well. Portia walked over to the table, one that her father had not tipped over in sheer rage, and picked up a pot of tea she'd made; a very...special pot of tea. Percival was on his way to the meeting; he was running late as another malfunction in the Dispater kept him busy. Ignis was also at work and he had the first good news the Verusans had in weeks. The Azazeal was ready for liftoff.

But now, it was time for Portia to make her move. She'd had enough of her father's screw-ups and she believed Versua had a genuine shot to win the war...or at least force the Allies into a truce. Phase One was to take control of the White Crow. Phase Two was to take back Disra. She hoped to accomplish both in one day. She walked in right when the two were talking and informed them of the decision.

"So, the Azazeal project is complete?" asked Masson.

"Yes. Ignis had informed us that it is already on the way to the front. I understand you wanted approval first, but...time is not a luxury we have." replied Portia.

"I see. Normally I would be rather upset at him jumping over my head, but if this at least gives us a fighting chance...then I'll accept the circumvention." said William.

"Oh, it will. I don't think the Allies will have ever seen a gargantuan like the Azazael. Its power is beyond any behemoth they've seen before. I have laid eyes on this invention...and I trembled before its power." Portia said, clearly exaggerating. Graysel wasn't buying it; he was a realist.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is merely a pipe dream?" the Prime Minster said.

"Oh it is no dream Prime Minister. It is reality now. The first phase is to retake control of Disra at all costs. Considering the Allies have...discovered a method to counter our super weapon, we will surprise them with our own secret weapon. This weapon will have all the advantages of the Dispater Tower, plus more. Ignis and Makin have studied things like this in wars past. We've fixed the mistakes of the past. The Azazael will be an once-in-a-lifetime flying revolution." said Portia, showing them the schematics of the massive machine.

"I give you..._The Angel of Death_, _Azazael_." Portia added.

"Impressive...this is an incredible feat of man and machine! But we cannot risk casualties around the factories." said William.

"No...we only need the oil and metal. We can do without the factories. There's plenty around Ciudad. We only need a cushion to make sure we can manufacture what we need. We still have vast reserves of firepower." said Graysel, suddenly coming around to the idea.

"But, we're losing countless air personnel. Mortanus is doing the best he can, but with these defections...things are only going to get worse." said William.

"If worse comes to worse...but at this point, the worst is unfolding before our eyes. We must demand sacrifice in order to win. Only then, will we be able to at least force the Allies into a negotiated peace." said Portia.

"How about giving our people some hope of victory? It'll mean nothing if we cannot maintain their positive morale. Now, the people see that can have options. We _must_ act now, while we still have some support left." said Graysel.

"See, that's the difference between us. You and I are never going to see eye to eye on this. Mainly…there is this...literal "Iron Sea" between us. But, the truth is...these people have feared us because of what we were capable of." said Portia.

"We have to show them why they _need_ us. I suppose that breaking a few eggs to make the omelet may be the appropriate statement here." interrupted William.

"This is madness sir! We cannot sacrifice our own people for victory! There'll be nothing left worth fighting for!" said Graysel.

"At this point, we have to consider our survival. We'll be cast as criminals and I will not spend the remainder of my life in a prison cell!" William said angrily.

"Funny you should say that..." Portia said to herself.

"By the way darling...this tea is...excellent." said Masson, sipping the last of the tea Portia made. Graysel had only imbibed a small amount...but in the end the result would be the same.

"Thank you. I made it myself." Portia said. She smiled sweetly.

Suddenly, Masson felt limp. He dropped the cup to the ground and began to twitch as he too fell over. The black suited guards outside did not respond. How could they...when Masson couldn't even speak. Masson realized he'd been betrayed by one of his own; his own daughter. She did nothing to help...she simply smiled and stood there. Portia had poisoned them both!

"Well, I suppose I owe both you an explanation in these last few agonizing minutes of life both you men have left." said Portia. Portia walked over to her father's collapsed form and stood over him.

"The truth is, by sheer I ended up representing a lot of people you ticked off back in the old days. I represent the remnants of Orchid. People like Ignis and Morales, and Percival. People who've always thought they could do what you do better. The same people you tore apart. The same people you depended on to remove the traitors. They were the most loyal of your followers. And you double crossed them. You took away their power. You set them back." said Portia.

It all became terribly clear to Masson now. Everything he'd ever done had been for his own future. That selfishness had come back to haunt him. Was it so wrong to want to dream? Now it was clear that perhaps Portia had been responsible for the deaths of Rossi and a few other generals. Now everything he'd accomplished meant nothing. His life, his victories, his talent...all for naught.

"After all, you knew that it was going to be them or you someday. It just so happens that you never knew it was them. Remember, they were the subordinates when it went down. Now they've had enough of your laziness with this war. They want real leaders. Smart, ruthless leaders...not dreamers like you."

She was right. But there was nothing William could do. He wanted to kill her, he wanted to curse her to hell...but he couldn't even move. And yet...perhaps this was really vengeance. Perhaps he'd finally gotten his comeuppance for all the years of his terrible, unspeakable acts in the name of fulfilling his dreams of a world superpower. All the contract murders, the affairs, the terrible decisions he'd made. Now it was too late.

"It's nothing personal father. Cut can you honest say that you didn't see this coming? I mean, all the people you killed to get to this point; are you really shocked? You taught me all the right lessons about life and here I am, alive...and you suffering an agonizing, paralyzed end. You had some sense but...it came too late."

_Damn you, Portia. My destiny has not yet...been realized. Hell is my last stop...I guess I'd better ask the Devil for a favor...a favor that everything will go to Hell with her in charge._

And with that, William Masson was gone. Portia merely sneered and walked over to the paralyzed Dise Graysel. Portia came over with even more jubilation at watching him die.

"Oh, Graysel you have no idea how long have I waited this. I've been waiting patiently to watch you die for a long time. For all your doting over Sasha...weren't _you_ the one who murdered her mother, if I remember correctly? The only thing she cared for all these years? She still cries for her death six years after the fact...and yet it was you who committed the deed. And the irony of all...you are dying by the same untraceable Orchid poison you killed Sasha's mother with. All on my father's orders..." Portia said with the utmost sarcasm.

Graysel couldn't even think. His body would be racked with pain...if he could feel his own body. He felt limp and helpless...and yet he felt his life slipping away. Portia got up and walked away from him. She sat down triumphantly in one of the chairs.

"So, I think you two have already made those reservations in Hell. Meanwhile, I will take the mantle as the savior of this land, the woman who could do the impossible after her father dies after a sudden and tragic heart attack. The Prime Minister brought low by assassins' poison..."

Graysel could only think about Sasha...how he'd betrayed all those years ago. How he had to tell a sobbing fifteen year old girl a bald faced lie to save his own life and reputation.

_I'm sorry Sasha...please forgive me. I had no choice...I cared about Viera too...I'm so sorry..._

Those would be his last thoughts as Dise Graysel passed from the sordid life he'd led.

"Well, aside from that Graysel, how did you like the tea?" said Portia sarcastically as they both expired.

Portia laughed hysterically and sat back in the chair. If she had a cigar at the moment, she would have lit that baby and sucked it down into her lungs. Now she was the one in charge of things. She was going to be the hero now. She was going to save the country and rebuild it in her own image.

For a few long minutes, she simply sat there and silently enjoyed her victory. Then, after she'd made herself a drink (a non-poisoned one obviously) and fetched an aforementioned cigar...she saw Percival walk into the room. He smirked at the body of Graysel and merely looked coldly at the body of William Masson. Percival didn't really hate Masson, but Portia was the obvious stepping stone to what Percival really wanted...more power. Portia got up in a jubilant mood.

"Well...it's about goddamn time you did something." said Percival looking at the bodies. Portia came over and put a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Come on! Drink up! Percival...I hereby remove the idiotic handcuffs you've had on your machine. But...we must see how the Azazeal performs first." said Portia handing Percival a glass of liquor. She took a drink of it herself.

"Thank you kindly. But where is Ignis?" asked Percival taking the drink.

"He's at the Demogorgon. Azazeal is ready and should be lifting off...in the next few hours." said Portia, looking at her watch. Praeten smiled.

"Well, I'd better find something to do until then...I'm not missing this show." said Percival, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"Make yourself at home, but whatever you do..._don't_ drink the tea..." said Portia, mindful of her tainted drink.

_**Somewhere Near Disra, Versua**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**0830 hrs**_

_Xalia! Respond! Are you okay? Are you okay Xalia?!_

It seemed disingenuous now. Sasha heard the radio calls...and smashed the radio in a rage. But it wasn't rage at Baraka Molina's sudden, and convenient attitude adjustment; at his sudden silent treatment of Xalia or at his simple unwillingness to admit the obvious. It was rage at everything.

It was rage as Mephisto and the air force at Disra had been betrayed from within.

Xalia had been fighting for her life over Disra. Baraka had escaped but Xalia had not been so lucky. She was brought down to Earth literally. Beneath the cloth top of the deflated parachute, Xalia Masson curled into the fetal position in shame, anger, and sadness. So many friends in Disra were brought low by traitors.

It should have been a simple combat air patrol. Xalia had been sick with the news of Valuria's destruction. But Baraka only concerned himself with the Deceivers. The obsession with those Oseans was beginning to drive him insane in Xalia's opinion. But in the end, it was not the Oseans who ended it all...

The city surrendered and their own soldiers tried to lay down their arms. In a stunning move, command ordered the planes to attack the enemy. But some of the planes had the same opinion as the ground...and no one saw it coming. It was almost calculated and orchestrated. It was a disaster. A helicopter had made it near Xalia's position...only to be brought down by a missile. And yet, Xalia felt nothing but the weight of time.

_Is this how it's supposed to end?_ That was the only question she could think of. The city had no intention of helping their own. They'd sold out of the Allies and their ideals. They thought the grass was greener on the other side. But Xalia also began to look at the other side of the fence as well. Xalia wrestled herself free of the parachute and looked at the barren landscape.

To the west lay the Allied lines; to the east was king and country. One side represented freedom and the other represented loyalty. With Baraka's voice silent, she looked back over all of her experiences. As her brown hair fluttered in the morning wind, Xalia realized that Sasha was right. Her life had been a waste. She'd failed every time to come through on her oath to defend what mattered most. But everything that mattered was all but gone. Her friends, her lover lost to an obsession that enraged her...but she never questioned her father until Valuria. When Xalia spoke of it to Baraka, he cared nothing for it. A beautiful place destroyed by their own weapons and he didn't care. He simply poured over tape of previous battle...a warrior to the bitter end.

Xalia realized that she wasn't that kind of warrior after all.

She'd lost many friends, many people had died defending this land...and nothing could stop the machine that was the Allied advance. Disra knew it...and they acted accordingly. Kaida was still hanging around, but she only hoped he would wise up too. Xalia could not fight any longer. Sasha had implied that their father had been insane to continue fighting when all was lost. Xalia realized that she may have been right. Xalia had enough of the heartbreak, enough of the death, enough of failure.

But men like Baraka Molina created delusional worlds around them that told the dreamers that there was some way victory could be had. Verusa had no friends left in the world. No longer did the Osean leadership have the liberal attitude about war. They were going to finish this war one way or another.

Xalia could not go back home. She would not. She didn't want to see Sasha anymore. Perhaps things were better that way. It was a watershed moment for her. Hope was only good if the results were feasible.

Besides, the Versuan people were no longer concerned. For all intents and purposes, Versua had turned on her father and his dreams. What was the point of fighting on? Xalia would have gladly given her life to protect her father's dream weeks ago. But now, with no hope of winning...Xalia realized how valuable her life was. _Pragmatic?_ Perhaps, but it was better than being forgotten or killed. Sasha would be okay. God owed her a chance at life. So Xalia picked herself up, packed up the parachute, and began to walk west. She walked west to leave her old life behind.

"So long Baraka...father, I'm sorry...please forgive me." she said, walking into the arid land.

_**Above Disra, Verusa**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1745 hrs**_

Despite the celebration, the pilots of Wardog were soldiers; soldiers were still soldiers; and soldiers still had a job to do. The Osean Army advanced without incident into Disra. As they marched in, thousands and thousands of Versuans soldiers laid down their arms and marched to the Allied rear. Their heads were high, almost proud of what they were doing. There would be no bloodshed in this city. And in truth, everyone was happy. For these brave soldiers, the war was over and they welcomed it. Many were simply drained from losing countless battles, saw the writing on the wall and realized...they had no shot to win. The soldiers that were in the city were mostly hardened veterans of the failed Yuktobanian excursion, Moab Madra, and so on.

For the Allies, there was no incident. It was easy and painless. Disra was once a small town, but its population exploded when industry came to town. Of course, it came and went with the regimes. But Masson had these places working overtime for the war machine. Now it had been ground down and there was the obvious threat of a scorched earth strategy here. That would have been many magnitudes worse than the relatively minor oil fires outside Valuria. But, with someone in the Versuan command having some sense...it was a non-issue.

Wardog flew over this industrial jungle of factories and fuel dumps that surrounded the city. The nickname _Black Iron Sea_ was particularly accurate.

"Hey Dragon, Artemis here; go to UHF Secure 9." said Alou.

Cormorance was asking David to go to a secure radio channel. Of course, the channel could be heard by everyone in the squad. So Cormorance was flying near David, and he signaled down so they'd go, not to Channel 9, but nine down to Channel 1. But Cormorance was distrustful of many nosey ears. However, there was an unwritten etiquette rule about secure channels in-squadron. No one else asks any questions. It had its reasons; after all, most of the subject matter on secure channels was usually incidents of extremely inappropriate humor.

"Are you two always that amorous? I mean, she looks like your librarian. I'd never expect her to be so...spontaneous. If that's the case, you two must like flying under the radar if you know what I mean. So, tell me...what's you and Ava's...nighttime situation? I mean, hot and heavy or...you know, normal? You know...just between us guys?" said Alou.

David almost laughed...but it was mostly of embarrassment. David was never comfortable talking about he and Kei's intimacy when they were living their normal peaceful life. But David Lovecraft wasn't David Lovecraft here. He was Jonathan Sosabee. And Jonathan was always more open to discussion about certain things David would never discuss even with his closest friends. Thus, he had to stay in character.

"Believe me…you don't know the half of it. Don't be fooled by her meekness...she is a tiger when it counts." said David. And yet, he'd lied and told the truth at the same time. It was the truth, but David was acting and he almost confused himself; but Alou didn't know the difference anyway. Besides, despite his tendency to be pain at times, Alou was a man you could count on to keep one's secrets.

"I know what you mean! My wife is an animal when it's appropriate. It's amazing you two don't have more kids, or any for that matter. You never did tell me why. Oh wait...can I guess? I mean, that's probably why Ava said she wanted to take that kid back home." said Alou.

David was caught a bit off guard with that question. He'd talked to Kei about it briefly, but only that. How did he find out? But interestingly enough, he could tell the truth again without compromising his true self...almost.

"Well...we've had some problems. Some really bad things have happened..." said David, trying to find words.

Cormorance did not need to be told anything else. He got the message.

"Oh, I see. Sorry to hear that. Prenatal death is becoming a serious problem now in places like Rouge Park. But, my mother used to tell me...keep living and keep trying. That's all I can say." said Cormorance.

David knew Alou hd a point. It went back to when he tried to have some hope about being in this hellish land. However, elsewhere...Grimm wasn't really concerned with the CAP. He wanted to know what those guys were talking about so secretly. It was an uncomfortably long wait, as the AWACS was transmitting information. David saw the communication and changed back to an open channel.

"What were you two talking about?" asked Grimm.

"Funny thing you ask Preston. I was asking Jonathan here if you were a cross-dresser." said Alou, as if to say, _mind your own business_. Lillian laughed, Andrew laughed, and Kei just couldn't believe the shot he was taking at Grimm. David though...had a hard time not laughing. After all, he was in the secret conversation.

"What?!" Grimm shouted.

"That was low-brow…even for you." said Polly.

"Okay, knock it off you guys." Kei interrupted.

"Can no one take a joke anymore?" said Cormorance.

Grimm merely shook his head. Below, Disra seemed serene. Grimm thought that this was the way war was supposed to end. He'd imagine that Lauren would be proud of this sight as well. But there was something strange about her. Despite the horrifying wounds she suffered to her legs, she held no hatred for her enemies. Yet, Grimm held all the hate for the enemy. Now Grimm began to think he was the strange one...

"This is Scion to all allied craft. We are picking up a large object on radar closing at approximately 200 miles. I've never seen anything like this...there is radar jamming in the area. Be alert."

Blaze became Frozen as he looked at his radar screen and then the horizon. David had faced down airborne giants once before. The SOLG and the Arkbird were the elephants of the past. But David knew about them back then. Whatever this titan was...it was certainly unsettling. It wasn't the _existence _part ...it was the _not knowing anything about it_ part.

"I hope it's not what I think it could be..." said Kei, her voice measured.

"And what do you think it is?" asked Andrew. Kei had a long pause.

"You don't want to know." replied Kei.

Kei's heartbeat could be heard now. Her labored breathing could be heard all over the radio. But it was not just her; everyone was jittery now.

"My father told me a story about some large flying vessel during the Belkan War. I didn't think it was real until I got to the service but..." said Lillian.

"175 miles and closing. It's passing over Ciudad. All units point your nose to 12:00 and await further orders." said the AWACS.

David, Kei and Grimm's individual heartbeats reached a hyper pitch. They'd dealt with two gargantuan craft years ago. Secretly, they hoped this was some trick by the enemy. In truth, it was a trick. A trick pulled by the Versuans as a desperate play; a slight of hand and metal the likes of which no one had ever seen before...

_**Morasi, Verusa**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1800 hrs**_

Sasha was stunned now. She had gone to relax at a resort hotel just outside Ciudad. She'd gone to sleep as soon as they entered the hotel, simply tired from all the affairs. Everything her father had built was on the verge of collapse. It was amazing she could even close her eyes. Then again, who needed to have nightmares when reality had become one? Basra was gone, Versuan soldiers being drug through the streets, Valuria in ruins, Disra gone. Versua was falling apart. Her husband was still out there fighting, and her sister was missing. And now, she suddenly came face to face with a living, breathing nightmare. She felt someone was there...and she woke up...to muzzle of a silenced pistol. Sasha screamed bloody murder and it probably could have shattered the windows. Sasha was looking right into the eyes of the Looking Glass.

"I'm sorry...did I wake you?" said the terrorist, grabbing and holding her mouth shut. He still had on his black balaclava.

"No one's coming to help you. Your bodyguards are dead. It was not that easy. But all it took was a little casing and a little knowledge about you. And yet, here I am in the flesh once again." said the Looking Glass.

"So you're...Carlo Tenenbaum. What do you want? Are you going to kill me?" said Sasha.

"No...If I wanted to kill you...I could have killed you in your sleep. There is no escape from me, nowhere to hide from me. And for your family...there is no escaping my revenge." said Tenenbaum.

Sasha was bewildered. She was visibly shaken once he released his hold over her mouth. What did he mean by,_ revenge_?

"The reason I came here is to ask for your help; your help to end this war, and avenge so many dead." said Tenenbaum.

Sasha became furious. This man murders people at a whim...and expected her to believe he wanted the war to stop!

"Why do you care? You've killed our soldiers...you're just a murderer spreading lies about everyone!" Sasha said angrily.

"And your father is not?" retorted Tenenbaum.

Tenenbaum moved away from Sasha. Sasha froze. Her facial expression was one of total confusion. She knew that some shady things had happened in the past with her father...but he wouldn't be responsible for outright murder? Would he?

"Your father's legacy was not built on rebuilding this country in the way you may think it was. It was built on the blood of innocent people. Your comfortable life, your sister's career your husband, your unborn child...all of that was built on death and lies. Death and lies that men like me had to bear responsibility for. Even the Dispater Tower was built on the blood and bones of innocent people." said Tenenbaum.

All the neurons in Sasha's brain exploded at that point. She kept repeating the same questions over and over at millions of miles an hour. She almost laughed at the statement once her brain cells reformed.

"You're full of it. There's no way..." said Sasha, refusing to believe this man.

"Oh, am I? Go ask the people of Basra what they think of all the _great_ things your father has done." said Tenenbaum.

Sasha's blood was ice cold now. She was petrified of this man. He was murderous psychopath it seemed and now he had Sasha at his mercy. And there was nothing she could do but listen.

"You are a rarity. You are ignorant of the cold, horrifying reality of this land not by your own volition, but of design. You've been manipulated your entire life. So has your sister Xalia. But she's a fool. She is a deluded fool who will die a meaningless death in battle. Your father and his allies are going to drag everyone down into Hell with him; your husband, Xalia's lover, all your friends, many innocent civilians, and of course many brave Allies of three nationalities are going to die unless you and I join together. But before we can do that...you must first know the truth about this entire country and the legacy it was _truly_ built on." Tenenbaum said.

Sasha hated being lied to more than anything. If this man was accurate, that means that her entire life was a lie and everything she believed her father did was a sham. She at least wanted to hear him out...not that she had a choice in the matter.

"Speak; tell me your side of the story then." said Sasha.

"I like you. You are reasonable. Reasonable as anyone would be in the face of a loaded gun." said the Looking Glass.

Tenenbaum stood over her, completely showing his position of power. He put the gun away. He then pulled off his mask. Sasha almost recoiled in horror at this man. Now she knew why he covered up his face. All down the left side of his face was an extremely nasty scar. He was bald, and his left ear looked almost warped, as if something had burned it. He took the gloves off his hands, to reveal his burned hands. Sasha could tell this man was in his mid thirties, but it was hard to do. He clearly was a man with nothing to lose.

"You father's men did this to me. Your father is a malevolent man who hides behind the belief that the ends justify the means; just as I did once. I like so many before, believed in your father's dream. They called us Orchid Division; the secret police. But in order to realize it, a lot of people had to die. We were to wipe the old culture from Versuan's history and enforce your father's laws...by any means necessary. We used every method imaginable. We kidnapped, we imprisoned, we raped, we killed, we tortured, we gassed, we bombed...for six years, we forced the hand of the people. We gained their loyalty...or else. There was never any negotiation." said Tenenbaum, almost with an air of sarcasm to his voice.

"No..." Sasha said in total disbelief.

"I was paid to kill for your father. We all sacrificed so much for peace in this land. We sacrificed our morals and our souls. But, we were betrayed from within. We were accused of crimes we did not commit by our own peers. With that, we along with our families were hunted down to extinction. There were a lucky few who managed to escape. There were even fewer that were kept close to Masson as he trusted them. I am one of the few left alive from your father's purge." said Tenenbaum.

"Why?" Sasha asked. Sasha almost felt pity for the man…if she could deduce this was the truth.

"We were loyal to Masson to the death. But there were those inside Orchid who grew dissatisfied with Masson's methods. Those who thought they could control the White Crow better actually tried to seize power for themselves. But they failed..." began Tenenbaum.

"...and they blamed you and the others. But who?" said Sasha, having deduced the result.

"The true conspirators kept themselves hidden. They still remain like weeds in your father's house. These were the ones Masson trusted the most, but even he does not know they planned it all along." concluded Tenenbaum.

"How did this happen? Why...I don't understand. Why would my father do these things?" said Sasha, almost to the point of tears. Tenenbaum put his gun away and sat down next to Sasha.

"The truth is best told with a story. Like most stories, there are heroes and villains. The story starts with a single woman. This woman has no regard for human life at all and like her father believes the ends justify the means and the means are always cold and vicious. She befriends several equally depraved and callous people, three men and a single woman. Together they build a weapon, a weapon of mass destruction...the Dispater Tower." Tenenbaum began.

"This woman is borderline psychotic; she grew up privileged and learned brutal, evil lessons about life from her father and her late mother. She grew up with the talent to take advantage of everything; everything is to be used and thrown away. She is responsible for many deaths. She is put in charge of organizing labor to build this weapon of mass destruction. This labor was made up innocent people snatched up for making negative comments about the party…or prisoners and other scum and they are sent to labor and perish in work camps. This woman takes joy in personally torturing the workers. This woman has the workers buried in mass graves to never be seen again." said Tenenbaum.

Sasha looked like she was going to be sick; and Tenenbaum got closer to Sasha, almost uncomfortably close...as if he could be anymore creepy...

"This woman is the lynchpin of the plot against your father. Surrounding her are the people I mentioned before...all conspirators in the inevitable coup d'état. They will eliminate everyone in their path just so they can lay claim to the corrupted throne that is the leadership of the White Crow." continued Tenenbaum.

"Who is this woman you speak of?" asked Sasha...almost afraid of the answer. Tenenbaum smiled.

"You know her quite well. She is your own blood...your own sister...Portia Masson." said Tenenbaum.

Suddenly, Tenenbaum froze before Sasha could collect her thoughts. She was in total shock about Portia...he couldn't have been telling the truth? Could he? Suddenly, everything in the room began to shake.

"What is that?!" said Sasha, hearing the rumbling beneath her feet. She thought it was an earthquake. Then the outside became even darker. It was if a large shadow had passed over them. Sasha came to the window, looked up...just as the Looking Glass did. Tenenbaum was amazed at what he saw. He'd never seen this before, and yet he had no doubt about who was responsible.

"Hmm...It seems that mad scientist Dimitri Ignis has a talent for ingenuity." he said looking at the gargantuan flying machine.

Sasha could only see the bottom of what looked like a massive red colored triangular razor in the sky. Sasha nearly had a heart attack at the size of this thing. It looked like a massive Concorde-type jet from the bottom and its length was only less than half a mile; with it were a ton of planes. Sasha couldn't tell how high up it was...but it was enough to blank out the remaining sunlight for a mere few minutes.

"What...the hell...is that thing?!" Sasha said in total shock.

"It's trouble for all of us. Hmm…I'm betting I can guess where that thing's headed..." said Tenenbaum.

To be continued in...Chapter 21: The Angel of Death (Part II)


	21. The Angel of Death, Part II

Chapter 21: The Angel of Death, Part II

"_Men like you built the hydrogen bomb. Men like you thought it up. You think you're so creative. You don't know what it's like to create a life. All you know how to do is create destruction and death..." from the movie, "Terminator 2"_

_**Morasi, Verusa**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1800 hrs**_

Sasha Masson looked up at the sky as the massive craft began to pass. She looked with a curious eye at the Looking Glass, who for all intents and purposes still kept her hostage. To drive the point home, he dragged her back inside and closed the balcony door. Sasha then noticed that he'd barricaded the doors with the drawer.

"I've never seen anything like that in my life. How did they...?" Sasha wondered.

"Who knows? But if I were a gambling man, I'd put my money on whoever has to destroy that thing. Well, I'd better get going." said Tenenbaum...in a rather sarcastic notion. Sasha stopped him.

"Wait a damn minute! You come here, you kill everyone that's with me...and you tell me a bunch of stuff that I don't even know is true or not...and you expect me to believe just like that?" Sasha shouted at him.

Tenenbaum scoffed. "I thought you were a smart woman."

That got Sasha riled up even more.

"Be realistic! You show up spewing all this garbage and expect me to just get it now? What do you want me to do?! What do you want?! I'm being pulled in a million directions and I don't know what to do! Unlike you, a lot of us don't have the luxury of being able to cope with the wrong kind of truth in a little while!" said Sasha...in a mixture of near tears, anger, and confusion like no other.

The Looking Glass put a hand on her shoulder.

"I was like you once; confused, hurt...emotionally drained. I didn't know what to do. I was lost. Then I realized I had a choice to make. I could have stayed dead, but I didn't. I wanted to change the world. It was then I became something more than a man...I became a legend." he told Sasha. But Sasha wasn't buying it. She threw his hand off and pointed her index finger right at his face.

"You became nothing but a murderer and the kind of person who deserves the same fate that you claim my father and his men do!" shouted Sasha.

"...you're right. You're absolutely right. But it doesn't change what happened. Tell me Sasha...do you like the world you're in?" asked Tenenbaum approaching her.

"You want the truth?!" Sasha shouted at him, arms akimbo, "What's the point? When this war is over, this country will be nothing but a ruined shell of its former self...just like it was long ago. Osea and her allies will leave us to rot while they leave oil refineries to finance their own countries! My child would have nothing but hardships. Does that answer your question!?"

Sasha's heat began to radiate off her skin...but the Looking Glass wasn't even fazed by it.

"Interesting. You're not far off." said Tenenbaum. Carlo wasn't a fool. He knew exactly what Osea intended to do...and so did this twenty-something girl. Sasha looked incredulous.

"What? If...you know that's going to happen...then why do you fight? If the future in your mind is about the same...then why?! It's an exercise in complete insanity!" Sasha fired back.

Tenenbaum backhanded her and slammed her into the floor.

"If you don't want the world to be that way, then do something about it!" shouted the angry Tenenbaum. Sasha's eyes bulged and she bared invisible fangs.

"Fuck you! You're the one who speaks of change! Damn it, why don't _you_ do something about it! Go then, and challenge my father if you wish! I won't stand in your way! But we can't all make the same choices! I'm not your kind of person!" Sasha shouted, with tears in her eyes. Tenenbaum pointed his silenced pistol right at her and then moved it right to her left eye.

Sasha, once again, felt like an insect to be stepped on by this man. She was shaking at this point.

"No. You're a coward, Sasha Masson. Hundreds of thousands of people had to die to be your father! So many people had to die for to you to even exist! You _owe_ them your help as far as you're concerned!" said Tenenbaum.

But Sasha refused to believe it at this point. This man wasn't credible...sure the pieces fit to the puzzle, but the picture he was describing could have been totally different.

"You act as if you're life has made one bit of difference! Be honest...it hasn't! That's why you keep torturing me! You have no ideology outside revenge. Someone like you...all you know is death! If you truly want it...then go take it. I _dare_ you." said Sasha, with every bit of poison in her voice.

It was then that the Looking Glass realized...that Sasha was _right_. In truth, his life had made very little difference in the grand scope of things. Sure he'd led the Resistance...but would that bring about change in the long run? No one had ever taken him to task on that statement...until now. But he couldn't admit that it was that fear that drove him. He'd attracted so many to his cause for revenge...but as the leader, his vision may have been warped by all the years of being a paid assassin; a cold blooded murder.

The Looking Glass had torn apart a lot of lives in twelve years in a lot of twisted, vicious ways. He was paid to kill a White Crow dissenter once...he murdered him in broad daylight right in front of his pregnant wife and little child. Just pointed a gun at his temple and blew his brains out all over the market in San Ava. He killed a man while he was at his son's birthday party. He threw a man off a twenty story building right on top of his new car. He slit a protesting man's throat right in front of his daughter.

He never killed innocent people. But all the blood and death he'd inflicted for the White Crow, only to be betrayed by them had removed any empathy Carlo had for its members. Yet in the face of this Sasha Masson, he relented and conceded a terrible truth buried under blood and money and revenge.

Finally, he put the pistol away and lifted her off the ground. He even started to straighten out her tussled hair, an act which Sasha thought was a bit creepy. He finally responded in a calm voice.

"I would...but I require your help." he said.

"What do you want me to do?! I want this war to end, but I can't trust you. I won't trust someone who kills for a living. I know someone who can give me a straight answer..." Sasha began.

"Who? Your uncle!? He's just as guilty as your father. He was in Orchid too. He did the same things I did, to an extent. We did the killing, people like your uncle had the receipts." interjected Carlo.

Sasha was confused and hurt now. She would not believe it. The things about her father she possibly could believe. But Graysel...there was no way he could have been involved. No way in hell was Dise Graysel, her mother's brother, involved with that horrible group of war criminals!

_Could he have been though?_ That was what mystified her so much. It completely caught her off guard.

"I understand your distrust of me. But I do have something that will give you the sheer horrifying precision of what really went down years ago." said Tenenbaum, handing Sasha a small pink book.

"What is this?" Sasha said, flipping through the pages.

"This is a diary written by Portia some years ago. It was written during the construction of their so-called super weapon...the Tower. They did some terrible things during the construction I found it in the house of an associate of Portia...one who I killed. But don't feel bad for him...he deserved what he got."

Sasha nearly had a heart attack. He wasn't lying now; this was for real.

"This is Portia's writing...and all the drawings she'd do. She had a habit of just drawing on documents...but..." Sasha said eyes darting around. Suddenly, the Looking Glass handed her a cellular phone.

"Here...take this. If you wish to accept the truth, then call the number on the phone. When you call...ask for Windrom. You call for Windrom because there is no Windrom. You wait...I'll call you from a secure location..."

Suddenly, Tenenbaum was caught off guard when the door began to bang with the sounds of men outside. It was then that the Looking Glass had made a tactical error in not killing all the guards after all; or rather, making sure they were all dead. Sasha almost laughed. This so-called consummate assassin may have not been that good after all.

"Open it! Open it! She's still inside!" said one of the voices outside. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. The guards had caught up to the Looking Glass. The door banged as they tried to force their way through the barricaded door.

"Looks like you got a bit sloppy..." said Sasha, with a smile. The Looking Glass merely scoffed.

"They've got nothing. They can't kill what they can't catch!" he said.

Tenenbaum pushed Sasha to the floor and ran to the window. Sasha had noticed the rope around his waist and his shoulder. She had deduced he intended to jump off the roof and repel down to escape...or something of that sorts. He quickly secured the rope and Sasha, not even bothering to even follow him, clutched the book she held.

"By the way Sasha...you've got a terrible taste in music!" said Tenenbaum, jumping off the balcony. Sasha replied in kind with a middle finger and a sneering look.

By the time the strangely black uniformed guards burst through the room, the Looking Glass was all the way to the bottom and running away. The lead soldier banged his fist against the wall.

"Damn! He got away!" the man shouted.

"Are you alright, miss?" said one of the guards, helping her off the floor. He looked kind of young for a soldier.

"Yes...I'm fine." replied Sasha.

"Let's get her out of here. The boss isn't going to like this. She's going to be pissed." said one of the other guards.

"Huh?" Sasha asked. Sasha was confounded. _Who the hell was…she?_

"This is Unit 3, Unit 5 is down, I want a full lock down of the city. No one gets in or out without our say so." said the black uniformed officer.

Of course, neither Sasha nor the Looking Glass knew that William Masson was dead. Sasha clenched the diary to her and then put it in to her bag as she was hurried out of the hotel room. Once she emerged into the hallway and the adjacent areas, she saw the blood and corpses of the entire security team scattered over the entire floor. How he did kill them while she slept was a total mystery to Sasha. But at this point she didn't care. She was still alive. She only hoped Ammon was still alive. But there bigger things afoot than the fate of Ammon Kaida...

_**Over Disra**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1802 hrs**_

Before David Lovecraft took up the mantle of Blaze years ago, one question he always had was this: Could the sky shake? Blaze found that out the hard way years ago. But now he had felt it again. Then again, perhaps it was the shaking in his soul. It wasn't fear, but uncertainty...or was it _really _fear?

"All units, we have an incoming message from command." said Scion, the AWACS.

Much to the chagrin of the Razgriz couple: it was the voice of Lucien Jackson.

_To all allied units, listen to me now. We are facing an attack by a extremely large aerial battleship. Combat capabilities unknown. Your orders are simple: engage and shoot down this aerial titan before it touches the city of Disra...without fail._

Now David was fully convinced that Lucien had some stake in this. Lucien Jackson was a CIA guy who worked behind the scenes. He was not a direct, face to face guy. So why was he giving a direct order now? Did he really have the authority to make such an order? But David and Kei both knew better. It all became clear now. Jackson really was just Cohen's personal capo.

Jackson was an extremely powerful government man and reported to no one but President Mary Cohen. Needless to say, Lucien Jackson may have been pulling the strings behind the entire war all along. General Howell was probably was never in charge and every decision could have been made by him. That would explain why the Southern Alliance suddenly had such high powered weaponry.

That would also, and more importantly, explain the sudden move to Disra rather than securing Valuria. It just _seemed_ like something Lucien Jackson would do. Forty thousand dead civilians in Valuria and Jackson wanted to take Disra...and just like _that,_ it happened! David and Kei may have been hoodwinked once before by this man...but now he was just simply insulting their intelligence. He wasn't even being discreet anymore. Now it was clear this war had turned from one of necessity to one of convenience. All they had to do was destroy Dispater and that would be, as they say, all she wrote.

But that wasn't important now. There was some massive weapon bearing down on the squadron and the city.

"Aerial battleship? What the heck is that?" Fisch asked.

"I guess they don't want us to have Cylaron's investment." Kei said.

"Whatever. Let's just blow this thing and go home!" said Polly.

It took a few tense minutes for anything to show up on the radar. It was a deathly silence as the unknown lay out there in the darkening sky. David looked at the horizon, having attempted to make a mental image of what he was expected to see. All of the sudden, David thought that this was like the part in a movie where the drums start beating and the music becomes freaky and creepy as the "known unknown" approached them ever so steadily.

"The craft will be within range of attack in three minutes." said the AWACS.

It was long few minutes for Hans Grimm. If David had a picture of what this thing was, then Grimm had none. All this time, he thought only about avenging his would-be wife losing her legs by that damnable electrical monstrosity; one that still at large. But no fear came over him. Only anger came over his soul. It was bad enough that incredible weapon was still out there, but suddenly...they had another! It was complete madness.

Suddenly, Grimm could only see the silhouette of what looked like a massive red colored triangular razor in the sky. Grimm couldn't believe the size of this thing. It looked like a massive imitation of the Arkbird...and its length was only less than half a mile. This was no Arkbird...that was for sure.

"What _is_ that?" asked Grimm, almost in total shock.

David wondered the same thing. But as David laid eyes upon the massive craft, suddenly...he could see lights from the front of the aircraft. David did not need to be told what this was. He'd seen this once before on the Arkbird. He would not be caught by surprise again.

"Get out of the middle! Spread it out! Spread it out!" David shouted.

No one in Wardog needed to be told twice, especially Kei Nagase and Hans Grimm. One just didn't question Blaze's flight IQ. That just wasn't _done_. He said something and they did it because they knew what the hell he was doing. And Wardog had the mutual respect for each other and as such followed suit because they all knew that David knew what he was doing...as he trusted them.

Upon David's realization that whatever that light was indicated trouble, everyone began to maneuver to the left and the right on their own. The other Allied pilots in the air were a bit dumbfounded by this maneuvering, but they realized if the experts were doing it...why wouldn't they be doing it? More importantly, why were they _not_ doing it already?

Just as David expected there to be...this light was trouble. And almost seconds after he'd called it, the light became a beam of blue laser death. It was out of character for the Versuans, of course. Usually, they expected purple blasts of death. But this was something _way_ too familiar to David, Kei and Grimm. Grimm was the first to have a connecting of the dots...of sorts; it almost looked _exactly_ like the laser from the Arkbird six years ago!

"What the hell was that?!" Polly shouted.

"Never mind that, there's more coming in!" shouted Andrew.

A group of short firing lasers repeated the same thing as everyone began to maneuver to avoid them. The Allies behind them were not all lucky to avoid them. Some were lost; vaporized by blue lasers of death. Lillian tried to disbelieve this. It all seemed so wrong now. First electrical blasts, then scattering missiles, now lasers! What else could go wrong?

"The unidentified craft has slightly increased its speed," said the AWACS, "They're firing those lasers from five points. 350, 360, 010, 020 and 030."

That told David everything he needed to know about this craft. Whatever the hell it was, it was firing lasers in a rather narrow area.

"Let's give it a wide berth to the left and the right. Stay out of the center." said Cormorance.

Suddenly, the radar lit up with all kinds of planes flanking the gigantic...object. Suddenly, it came into view and what a view it was. There was nothing beautiful about it. Kei knew that all too well. This battleship, whatever the hell it was, looked like something that was designed to inflict all kinds of hellish havoc. This wasn't like the Arkbird and its deceptive beauty. This thing was a blood-colored razor-sharp killing machine...and they hadn't even come in full contact with it.

It was hard to describe it. It was almost flat, but long with wings that looked similar to that of a Mig-29s's wings. Yet the body folded in like a B-2 bomber. It had tail fins like an F-15 would, but they were narrow and long. All along the top of it was a series of "razor"-like pieces. It wasn't particularly wide, but it wasn't particular small either. This was a big ship...and was already very menacing.

"Holy God." David heard one of the Allied pilots say on the radio.

"How the hell do we shoot this thing down?" asked another of the pilots.

The man formerly known as Blaze was staring down the barrels of some massive airship bearing down on the Allied formation. The woman formerly known as Edge saw the same thing. They both nodded to each other and they both thought the same thing.

_How the hell are we going to get out of this one?_

But the deer-in-the-headlights approach wasn't going to work. So they decided to figure out what to do having dealt with these craft before. Though Cormorance was the lead, he had never seen anything of _this_ caliber before. But Blaze and Edge couldn't say too much lest they reveal who they really were...

"Artemis, if you and someone else help keep the fighters off us, we can figure out a way to destroy this thing." said Blaze. After some time...

"...okay. Preston, me and you! Let's go get these bastards!" said Alou. Why Alou picked Grimm was beyond David's thinking...but he had no time to think about that. As Grimm flew away, the only question was..._now what_?

If those were lasers...then they had to be eliminated first. But David knew that the enemy probably doubled up on everything. So he thought that there may be two sets of lasers; one on the top and one on the bottom. Not to mention the ones in front. Then there were the AA defenses, engines...then the bridge itself. But bringing this thing down was going to be no simple challenge. It was a much different animal than the Arkbird...but a similar type of thought was needed in order to bring this thing down. He took a quick reminder of the types of planes everyone had.

But suddenly, everyone had to maneuver because of the enemy planes approaching them. David and the others had to get separation fast. They were going to need their entire ordinance to bring this thing down...and they needed some help to do it.

"Okay, here's the deal. Ava, you and Lillian destroy the lasers. Andrew, you and Polly try to nail the engines if you can."

Lillian spotted all the flak clouds above and below the razor like ship. She was taken aback at the sheer size of this thing. She also knew that her plane was not equipped for this kind of warfare...especially with flak guns this close to the action.

"How are we going to get through the flak!?" Lillian asked desperately.

"I got an idea...Jonathan, you have bombs right...why don't you use them! Drop them along the top of the ship to knock out their AA fire." said Cormorance.

David shook his head. He already had that plan thought out. Though he had to give Alou credit; for all his "ulterior motives"…he was a smart man.

"It's not much of a plan...but we'll have to try it. Good God, this is insanity in a can." said Grimm.

"And I don't think it's going to work twice either..." added Kei, nervously.

And they'd yet to see the true power of the craft...

_**Aboard the Azazael**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1802 hrs**_

Zerran Makin was stunned at his work. For years, he'd worked on perfecting the power of the Dispater. With the help Doctor Zorba, he'd constructed and designed the super-tower of the Dispater. The Dispater was divided into two parts, the superstructure and the Tower itself. The tower was the size of a skyscraper that was protected by the circular superstructure containing the massive amount of radar dishes, SAMs, anti air guns, transmission towers, electrical centers, and power plants. Inside the Dispater was the daisy chained..."RAID-like" module; a massive X-9A core made up of sixteen individual modules that combined could increase the Dispater's power on an exponential basis.

It was the most brilliant weapon ever conceived. Despite his reservations about Percival and Zorba, Makin had done well with his work. That is until General Ignis and the men and women of the Demogorgon Facility surpassed him. And still, the Allies had found a way to counter that massive tower to some degree.

Ignis surely had done well with his work. Making had no idea how they did it. The Azazeal was true work of technological art. It was the greatest aircraft of the millennium. Makin had heard rumors about how they built it. Some said they canalized designs and pieces from the countries that had already tried to build such flying titans of their own. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that this craft could signal the critical change in momentum that Verusa desperately needed.

And yet, it would never be a full victory for Makin. The biggest hole to fill in his life was his son...and he had been dead for weeks. Despite knowing that his son had died in some bizarre freak collision, he felt the pangs of vengeance once again. It had come to haunt him when he was at the Dispater; now he had another chance. He hoped that his son would be proud of what he was doing now.

The craft was going to set a new benchmark for the "state of the art". There were six X-9A modules, a dozen surface-to-air missiles, five rail guns, and a ton of AA guns. Not to mention the swiveling lasers above and below the massive ship. Then there was the _big_ rail gun. The bridge was protected by powerful glass, resistant to most, if not all, heavy caliber bullets. The only thing that could crack it without doubt was some kind of a fast moving object of considerable size; an object like a plane. But what were the odds of that happening? After all, why else would they have put the anti-air defenses on the airship?

Makin wasn't in command of the ship; rather, a General Varro was the skipper of this vessel. Makin, and many other people in the White Crow, liked Varro. He was sadly underused as the war went along, but now he had a purpose. No, he had a more important purpose than simply doing a job. He was in charge of trying to swing the war back towards Versua's side. That was some job...but Varro wasn't afraid of the task.

Makin always liked a man who was in total control of his situation.

"We're approaching the target area, sir. We've finished the first volleys, and the Allied air forces around the city have begun moving toward us."

"Excellent. All stations, this is the bridge, commence Azazeal Stage One. Ladies and gentlemen, you know what to do." said Varro.

This craft had certain..."stages". This stage was the normal one. Everything was in functioning in perfect order. All the stations were intact and everything was going smoothly. The plan of the Allies being drawn out was playing directly into the game plan for this situation. Once they'd swept the skies over the city, they could focus on the city itself. Their main goal was to avoid the outer areas and do whatever it took to force the Allies out of the city. Since the city had surrendered peacefully, indicating the intent of treachery, the entire city was considered hostile. Neither Varro nor Makin had any problems with that.

After a few tense minutes, the planes escorting the Azazael began to fan out and accelerate towards the approaching Allied planes.

"Allied planes approaching!" said one of the operators.

"Open up all gunnery ports! Fire away!" Varro ordered. Makin stared coldly at the officers working.

"Well, now it's either immortality...or nothing at all." said Makin, eyes like icebergs.

_**Over Disra**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1807 hrs**_

David Lovecraft had faced down titans once before. The Scinfaxi, the Hrimfaxi, Cruik, the Arkbird, the SOLG...but Blaze had never seen anything like this. Whatever this elephantine ship was, it was surely more destructive than anyone had ever laid eyes on. David suddenly saw what looked like a swiveling laser on the top of the craft! It was firing at an upward angle, but could only stay at ninety degrees. David informed everyone to stay in the middle. But there was yet another problem. There was nowhere that was truly safe. They were taking fire from all directions; they were even being harassed by fighters from behind.

The entire craft buzzed with missiles, lasers, and flak all around it. The firing was relentless as it continued on its rather quick pace to the city. The ground was being as damaged as the sky around this gargantuan flying machine.

David's original plan had been shot down...so a new one was needed; and quickly. They needed to concentrate on one thing at a time. A plane could survive flak...but not a straight blue laser of death. But what to do? There were still enemy planes around, and they were going to need the missiles for them...but it was clear that this...flying titan was going to require some serious firepower.

"All aircraft focus on the offensive weapon systems of the airship. Go for the lasers and rail guns first." said the AWACS.

"Easier said than done!" shouted Andrew.

"How do I target this thing?! Nothing's giving off a radar signature." said one of the allied pilots.

"Just set your missiles to the vectors called before. Call it out, and we'll try to guide you in for the attack." Scion told all the pilots.

Scion began calling out the coordinates to the aircrews.

However, that _surely_ was easier said than done. Andrew Fisch punched in the coordinates and now came the hard part...focusing on the central rail guns. There was one problem; well…there were actually four or five problems. The first problem was actually targeting the damn lasers. Next, he had to dodge the enemy planes swirling around the massive craft. Then, he had to dodge the hail of flak above and below and in the middle of the craft. Then, he had to actually to _dodge_ the lasers. Add to that...Andrew didn't even know if his missiles would even do enough damage. But he knew the answer. Well, he knew it...but it was Polly who called it in.

"Any Allied units near the...front..or whatever the frock this thing is...get right in front and start blasting away at this thing!" said Polly.

For the first time in the war, Wardog was about to enjoy and alpha dog status. Just as he said that, several other planes from other groups had already began to fire at the locations where Scion had indicated. Andrew had already targeted two of the guns and fired before having to evade incoming enemy missiles. But he was able to see a rather modest explosion from two places in front of the craft.

"Well, that's two down." said Andrew.

Blaze and Edge came perpendicular to the craft, and Edge caught one fighter that was approaching them from about fifteen miles out. Blaze didn't see it...because he didn't have to. Edge fired her Sidewinder and fell in behind her husband as he tried to work out some strategy on how to deal with this thing. Andrew was near them, and he saw Dragon do something that was just insane. It was seriously "gnarly", as Andrew described it.

He just came down and dropped bombs on the top of the airship, just ignoring the flak and just blowing through there. They were some heavy bombs too, as they exploded along the top and took out a few of the defenses on top. Soon other pilots were doing the same thing...though they weren't as lucky. Now the Allies were in a rhythm, pounding the ship with everything they had.

But that so-far-so-good line was only temporary. He should have known better than to assume things were alright, because they were not alright _at all_. He took a quick look at his radar screen as his window filled with black clouds of exploding shrapnel. The radar was screwing up and it became wavy and warped. That only meant one thing...

"Oh, snap!" said Fisch.

That got everyone looking towards the craft...and no one needed to be told what to do. No one in Wardog needed any more information. They'd been briefed about the possibilities of the enemy equipping those X-9 weapons on their fighters and other aircraft. And that was the way they hoped it would remain: a possibility. No more. Cormorance deduced that they would use the X-9 in the same defensive matter as the Ajax in the Ceres Ocean.

The allied aircraft began to move away from the Azazael as some kind of purplish shield came over it. David was incredulous. _How in the world did they do this?_

Everyone went nuts. Some Allied aircraft crashed into the barrier and were subsequently fried.

"What the hell is that?!" asked one of the Allied pilots.

"It's got some kind of protective...electrical shield over its hull; pull up! Pull up! Stay away from it!" Cormorance shouted.

Grimm was worried at this point. He was still turning above the craft with Cormorance. He hadn't been that successful at actually making any kills, but he did his job of keeping the planes away from the allied units. He found himself suddenly upside down but he was still following Artemis. He quickly took a glance at a picture of his love, Lauren Weiss, and then angrily looked for more enemies to take on. He was burning though the sky now and he intended to do whatever he could to ensure that his mysterious aircraft would burn on the ground.

Then things took a shocking turn...literally.

Grimm was too lucky. In fact, a dozen or so aircraft were way too lucky to avoid it. David saw it, but Grimm did not. All around them, electrical pulses ripped though metal, friendly and enemy. It was way too fast, but they were lucky to be alive.

"Allied Squadron wiped out! What the hell was that!" shouted the AWACS, in a temporary loss of control.

Cormorance had quickly deduced that this attack had been some sort of a pulsing electrical attack similar to what occurred during the skirmish above the Ajax in the Ceres Ocean. Soon, there were a lot less planes in the sky...enemy or friendly. They'd even wiped out some their own allies!

David was utterly incensed by this. It was clear this was an enemy that was unconscionable and ruthless beyond any means. Something seriously wrong must have been happening in their command structure to not even value the few loyal people they had. But then again, their goal of clearing the skies was somewhat of a success. But suddenly, the warping went away. David figured that it had to...recharge or something.

And as if that ace in the hole wasn't enough...then suddenly the bottom of the aircraft began to open up and revealed some long, narrow, mechanical, and spiky tube. David was beneath it, still trying to get an angle, trying to work out some form of attack. Suddenly, two enemy planes forced him away from the aerial fortress.

"What is_ that_?!" Polly shouted.

The craft began to list right and suddenly, the tube began to fill with blue light. The tube began to glow and from its bowels came a...pulse of some sort. David saw it fly past his plane and hit a part of the city. The massive explosion took out several factory buildings. David and Kei both took a spot check on the area. The area was filled with trucks and tents bearing the Cylaron logo. People were running for their lives below.

"Good lord! Look at that, Captain! Those maniacs! What are they doing!?" shouted one of the Sotoan planes.

"Insolent bastards! They're going to burn the city!" said the obviously recognizable voice of Serena Batiste.

"That's over near the Cylaron plant!" shouted one of the Yuke Allies. David saw it release another pulse, and this time a series of oil tanks went up in a mixture of flame and electrical pulses. David wanted to kill that thing...but...there was a problem.

David just...couldn't get a good shot. The remaining planes were still hellbent on staying in the fight. This was utterly confusing to David. They'd fragged some of their own allies...and they were still willing to fight? Perhaps this group was handpicked as the most hardcore, insane members to escort this craft.

"Take that big ass gun out! Now!" Andrew started yelling, as if he was in command or something.

For some bizarre reason, Kei Nagase had found some common ground with the enemy. That common ground came after this mysterious weapon arm started firing at the city. They'd blasted a whole group of Cylaron-occupied buildings and tents. The fact that they'd already set up shop in Disra indicated just how obvious their intentions were. Never mind that those people had families; Kei knew they represented a cold, harsh reality of Osean Corporate cruelty. But Kei's concern was the people inside the city. They were the people who stood to be taken advantage of by Cylaron and their respective corporate allies.

_But how to destroy that big gun?_

Suddenly, as Kei flew alongside Blaze, the Azazeal's big gun began to swivel towards them. Kei sharply pulled up and David followed suit as it fired its pulsing weapon yet again. But this time, they were so close that the air around them began to shake their planes. Kei only had three missiles left, having wasted one and used up three others on other targets. The craft was heavily damaged, but it still kept going.

"Da...I mean, Jonathan, keep me covered! I'm going to hammer that damn laser with what I've got left!" said Kei, who almost gave the secret away...yet again. Kei was getting annoyed with herself.

Both flew some distance away from the menacing aircraft and Kei began to rocket towards the craft. Rage drove her focus. Rage for her daughter's death at the hands of these people. It was then that she realized that Cormorance had been right about the Versuans.

_Apart from all this weaponry they have, their leaders will not drop a dime in the mouths of the mostly starving population or money in the hands of the poor._

"Look out!" David shouted.

David quickly pushed left and launched yet another Sidewinder at an approaching enemy plane. That was enough to drive it off and Kei continued on. Navarro, in the backseat, targeted three points with the remaining Sparrows on Kei did not have her attention diverted for the last critical moments. She fired the last of her three missiles, each detonating along the side of the rail gun. With that action, it simply exploded. Kei didn't know it, but that cannon was attempting to fire yet another round. As it blew, it began to descend. In a premeditated course of action, the remains of the cannon collapsed right over a part of the outskirts of the city. There was a sense of false hope when it began to lose altitude.

"It's falling!" shouted Grimm.

"No, it's just trying to level itself out!" said Cormorance. Sure enough, the plane finally leveled out and even increased its speed.

"All remaining units: get some hits in around the cockpit area immediately! Don't let that ship get further into the city's airspace." said the AWACS.

"What about the _people_ inside the city?" Kei asked. She was still struggling with her feelings on the Versuan people, however she didn't want a repeat of the tragedy in Valuria. This only made her furious as the Versuan Government showed her yet _again_ they had no regard for their own people.

"Evacuation is underway from the central area…but it probably won't do much good if it crashes in downtown Disra." Scion said.

David had one good shot at the bridge and he knew exactly where it was. He called it, and fired the subsequent missile towards the bridge. The Sparrow did not require heat, so he could simply point and shoot it, just keeping his lock on the plane. He was some three thousand feet above it. He tried to slow his airspeed...but that wasn't that wise considering the incoming fire. David almost had a scare when an enemy plane got a lock on, but Grimm dealt with it quickly. For once Grimm was in the right place at the right time.

"Damn, what the hell!" David said, his penultimate missile wasted on the bridge attack.

It was clear to David that this thing was not going to go down easily. Apparently, the remaining fighters still hung around and they were determined to keep the fight going as long as possible. This did not make any sense to Blaze. Then...David finally realized the purpose of this mission. It was a suicide mission. They were going to take Disra with them...

_**Aboard the Azazael**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1818 hrs**_

Makin wasn't sure how much more they could take. They'd inflicted some damage on the enemy, but they still came on and were picking apart the ship. They were on a tear now.

The Allies didn't realize it, but this flying fortress was suffering. The Azazeal had taken critical damage, but it was still flying. Alarms pierced the air all around them. Varro and the uninjured crew were trying desperately to keep the massive bird in the air. They'd inflicted severe damage to the Allied air forces and caused all kinds of havoc in the city. But it was those pesky few survivors (including the Deceiver aces) that were still staying in the fight. It was those pesky few who were doing most of the damage. But try as they might, they could not bring this massive bird down. The Azazeal would not go down without a brutal fight.

Makin was the most worried of the crew on the bridge. Perhaps the pilots and the bridge crew were not showing the worry. The rest of the ship was going ape. There were wounded and dead all over the place. Areas of the ship had collapsed...but it was still flying. Makin could not tear his eyes from the battle all around him. That is until a hand grabbed his arm.

"Sir, you'd better come with me. I'll escort you to the pods." said a female officer. Makin was incredulous.

"What's going on!? We're still in the fight!" he protested.

"We're about to enter the final stage! We're getting all the wounded off the ship as fast as we can!" said the woman.

Making looked at her as if he was insulted she'd even ask that question. But, despite the look, he responded tactfully. As he did, he noticed the female officer had a noticeable limp. Why would she be concerned about him? Then again, she was one of the staff officers from the Demogorgon.

Calmly, he said, "No. I'll stay here. Evacuate yourself. You'd just slow me down."

The woman looked at him, and then limped away without asking any questions to wherever the hell the pods were. The ship shook again but it was not strong enough to knock Makin off his feet. Makin didn't want to leave as he wanted to see this through the bitter end. He owed it to his son to do so. He'd only wished they'd been able to get closer to the city.

"Final Stage...so be it." said Makin.

Makin knew exactly what the "final stage" was. The final stage's results would be similar to that of the Ajax. It was simple: the self-destruction of the entire ship. It would ignite the X-9s' of the entire craft, electrocuting everything on the ground and at their altitude in a ten mile radius. More than enough to destroy all of Disra in one shot...and all the Allied forces in the city. With some luck, it could even cook the crude oil underneath the city. The people and soldiers of Disra were less than nothing anyway. They'd betrayed their motherland...and they deserved death for their actions.

"Ladies and gentleman, we are preparing to enter the final stage. If anyone wants off the ship before it blows, now is the time to bail out!" said Varro to the men and woman still on deck.

But no one moved from their stations. The crew only replied in unison: _Abara Vivo Verusa!_ Long live Versua; they would rather commit martyrdom than surrender. Varro looked at Makin, who had shouted it with the crew.

"I'm surprised you stayed on. So, I guess this is the part where we all become heroes." said Varro to Makin.

"A hero can die. Heroes are forgotten General, but legends never die. We will die legends!" replied Makin.

Now came the easy part. They only had to get to the city center. That only required a simple flight correction. There was nothing but suicidal confidence on the bridge. Makin had stayed, which was a bit out of character considering his cynical nature. But he'd thrown that out of the window for a chance to strike fear into the hearts of the Allies. The Allies were damaging the craft, but their attack was fading away. They were running out of steam, and more importantly, missiles. What could stop them now?

_**Over Disra**_

_**January 2, 2016**_

_**1819 hrs**_

Makin nor Varro had ever heard of Polly Elbe from Boston, Osea. She was around the craft trying to stay alive...and it was this woman who'd decide things. The Allies were trying the best they could. However, they could...not...get...this...damn...aircraft to go down!

It was so fast, Polly didn't notice it until it was too late. A bolt of that dammed man-made electrical storm had grazed Polly's airplane. Once it hit the plane, Polly felt a piercing, unbearable pain. That blast should have destroyed her airplane. But it did not; instead, it mangled and burned her left arm and leg. Polly was tough, however. She didn't notice it, but quite a few circuits had been burned...very important ones. But as she stayed upright, her life flashed before her eyes.

If someone told Polly Elbe that she'd be in the air force fighting some massive aerial battleship, she would have believed it...assuming of course, one told her that when she was in a drunken stupor. Though the "Harpy" had probably spent most of her life in a drunken stupor…

She'd grown up in a broken home with a father who drank too much and a mother who had rage issues. Things did not bode well for Polly Elbe growing up and it never did. She, like her father, took up drinking at an early age. It wasn't a problem for Polly back then. Her father didn't give a crap about much as he drifted from job to job, and her mother was always angry at something. Her parents didn't care so much about Polly, as they thought she was just a burden. They didn't care and Polly didn't care either.

So Polly ended up going out at night on occasion, but then she stayed longer and longer. Eventually she got in trouble, and nearly got killed as a passenger in a drunk driving accident that killed an old couple. She escaped the big vehicular manslaughter charges but was sent to a special Rehabilitation center. It was more like a military boot camp or a hard, federal prison. Lights out, the yard, people screaming in her face, the showers...

Polly never forgot those memories.

While she was there, she never got the sense of any concern from the people who lorded over her. She instead found it in the people she was serving with. They became a true "band of brothers...and sisters". Eventually, Polly got out and while on the flight back home, she looked at the scenery and over the horizon. It was then she decided to be a pilot. She was eighteen; it was almost an eternity ago.

She breezed through the Air Force Academy...though that was a relative term. She graduated a few spots from last in her class. The only one who did worse than her was Andrew Fisch, who she ironically shared a class with. But she was used to punishment, long hours, and little sleep by now. But she had a habit of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time...and just generally doing stupid, maverick stuff. The only thing that impressed her instructors was her toughness.

They could kick the crap out her and she got back up and asked for more. Those five years defined Polly Elbe. Despite her faults, she brought it every time. Her instructors knew she was a tough and hard-nosed pilot, but she was not a quality leader...and they knew it would prove limiting in her career. It didn't take Polly long to find out how limiting...

It was that same toughness that was her downfall in the service as she tended to be stubborn and her old drinking habits caught up with her. That reason was why she bounced around from squad to squad. But she'd found a home now with this motley crew of pilots, each with their own faults and strengths. And despite any previous reservations with them, she was willing to die for each one of them. Lillian, Cormorance, Andrew, Preston, Ava, and Jonathan.

She was about to get her chance. The others just didn't know it yet.

She could barely the fighter she was in. It was amazing she had any control at all since the F-16 was like an expensive dinner plate when it came to fragility. She couldn't even control her left arm anymore. It was horribly burned now and even as she tried to pull the eject handle with her right hand...it didn't even work when she pulled it. The circuits to it had blown completely. No ejection. It was easy to tell since the reserve switch didn't go either. Polly knew that if the reserve switch wasn't working...you were pretty much screwed since it took something seriously weird to make that not work. Perhaps that X-9 lighting crap had fried the connectors...

But it didn't matter now. The telemetry was a mess and the only thing still working were the engines. There was no way she was going to make it back to base on a torn up right wing. Not even the landing gear worked. Polly Elbe was going to die soon.

Polly had noticed her friends finally managing to pick apart the craft, but they couldn't get to the engines or the bridge...as of yet. Several Allied planes had been lost while they tried to get in hits around the bridge.

"Polly!? Respond! Are you alright?" asked Lillian.

But Polly didn't say anything. If she couldn't eject...then she at least planned to take someone with her. She wasn't sure there if there was a Hell, but at least she wasn't going to go alone if there was. But who would serve as a good travel buddy? She didn't have any of the manual reversion controls that an A-10 had. So she was only going to have one shot at this before she lost all power.

Then it hit her! This giant ship would be the prize and if she could take the whole crew of some mysterious battleship to Hell with her...

But how? She took a page from one of her favorite movies...she was going to bring the entire ship down by taking out the bridge. Her plane would serve as some human and metallic battering ram of sorts. But she was going to need some help.

Polly Elbe took a brief look over her life.

_Let's see...accomplished something important: check. Sampled every liquor known to man: check. Got laid a few times: check. Left everyone better than I left them: check...I think. Talked to Mom and Dad: check. Will and testament complete: check. Is war is in the bag? I think that is a __**big**__ check. Time to go out in style!_

"What is she doing?!" Jonathan yelled.

"Eject!" said Andrew.

Polly could see the top of whatever the frock this craft was. She was approaching it from the front and off to the left at about 8,000 feet above it. The craft had taken plenty of damage...but no one could hit from the cockpit as of yet due to its defenses. Luckily, another purplish lighting blast from the craft erupted right in front of it. It was time to make her move. It would not work twice. If she missed...oh well. She'd be dead anyway. She tried to ignore the excruciating pain in her left arm. She let go and set the throttle to maximum. She had plenty of height. She had all the factors in place. She was going to crash right into that damn craft. It was a rather fitting tombstone.

"Polly! Get out of there now!" said Lillian. At this point, Lillian was in a state of absolute panic. The last person she wanted to see die was Polly Elbe. She'd seen enough people die…and to lose her friend would have been unthinkable.

"I can't get out of my craft. I've tried everything." said Polly.

"Keep trying! Don't give up!" Fisch shouted. Now Polly was annoyed.

"I just said I tried everything!" Polly snapped.

"Shoot out the canopy!" Fisch shouted out.

"Oh yeah, like this pea shooter is going to break through plastiglas!" said Polly. Polly had ruled that option out since the cockpits were designed to stop all low caliber rounds and a few higher caliber rounds from the outside and inside.

"I can barely turn this thing but...I think I can..." said Polly.

"Try landing on the road." suggested Ava.

"I can't. Nothing works except the engines and the right turn." Polly said.

Nagase's blood turned cold. She'd seen this once before...over the skies over November City. It was just like Chopper's fate. She held on to a fleeting hope that it wouldn't turn out the same way. But she was wrong. Then, Nagase saw her begin to fall towards the aircraft.

"Polly...what are you doing!? Polly!" Lillian shouted. Lillian had noticed that she'd pointed her nose right into the path of the oncoming airship.

"Captain! Do me a favor and distract the AA around the bridge for me! Quick!" said Polly.

"You got it! Good luck!" said Cormorance. That was what Polly liked about Alou. He'd do whatever was necessary, no questions asked. It was as if he _knew_ what she was going to do now.

Polly had noticed the trailing flak as Cormorance quickly zoomed by. She gave him a fleeting salute, even though Alou was unable to see her. Lillian and the other still hadn't figured it out yet!

"Thanks, Artemis...and don't worry about me! I've got a date with the flying saucer. I'll save all you guys a seat in Hell!" said Polly, almost laughing with her words.

Polly's only regret was that she didn't have a drink to celebrate the occasion. The Azazael was only a hair's breath away from downtown. She pointed the nose down and put on the full afterburner; but halfway...it gave out. Yet it didn't matter. Polly laughed all the way to the scene of the crash. Her last thoughts summed it all up. The last thing she heard was Lillian Izzo calling her name.

"Polly!" Lillian shouted.

_It wasn't such a bad life after all..._

Polly Elbe's world exploded...and everything went dark.

David saw the entire terrible event as he crossed underneath the Azazael's right wing. He pulled up and to the right, climbing back over the top of the flying fortress. Then he saw Polly somehow maneuver her fast falling plane right into the bridge of that craft. As she did...

Makin took solace in one thing. There was no solace to be had; only truth. He'd done so much for the motherland and now all the sacrifices he made meant nothing. He looked up as the craft crashed right into the observatory. No one but him saw it coming. He accepted his death as he closed his eyes. It was at that time that Makin realized he had failed his son. His world went dark as the errant craft crashed into the observatory.

Kei didn't quite see Polly crash into the bridge, but she saw the results. The entire bridge exploded and for a minute, nothing happened...then...things went the way it should have. The craft began to list a bit, and finally tip over to its right. Luckily, it was high enough that its collapsing form missed the entire center of the town and continued to fall east towards the outskirts of town. Lillian turned away from the crash...unwilling to look at the inevitable results.

The tip of the right wing crazed the ground and broke off, hitting the ground with an immense thud which caused the panicking people below to believe that an earthquake was in progress. That knocked the massive machine onto its back as it did a lazy roll...and finally crashed into the ground on its back...just on the edge of the city. In a display of sheer power, the ruined craft exploded in a shower of flame and electrical blasts. But it was nowhere near the intensity that it was intended. The Azazael was finished.

The man formerly known as Blaze let out a sigh of relief. But his head sunk into his instrument panel upon the realization that Polly was not coming back.

"It's going down! It's going down! We did it!" said one of the Allied pilots remaining.

_You did it? You did nothing_, Kei thought. The Allied pilots...rather, Allied hangers-on, had no business celebrating this one. After all, Wardog did all of the work. _They_ destroyed the lasers and that huge rail gun and the defenses! And it most importantly of all...it _was_ Polly who gave it the coup de grace.

Now she felt totally insulted...but she could say nothing to protest.

"Wow...did that really just happen?" said David, almost unwilling to believe what had just occurred.

"Yeah...I guess I have to slap myself to stay awake." said Lillian, turning back into the formation.

"So long Harp...at least you got a heavy ass tombstone to go with it." said Fisch, struggling to find words...something seriously out of character for the man they called "Jacks".

"Yeah...so long, Polly." Lillian said, barely containing her emotion. Then she just let it out

"Sorry." she said, still breathing rather laboriously.

David cursed now. Now he became angry at the Versuans. The hate filled his soul again. The very fact that the Versuans just refused to quit was wearing on him. Far too many people were dying that didn't have to. David, of course, had no idea that the Versuans were attempting to self-destruct the craft over downtown Disra, but...it was a moot point if anything now.

Grimm felt exactly the same when Chopper died all those years ago. Now Grimm began to feel sick. Once again, he'd been helpless to prevent such a sacrifice. Once again, people were dying that didn't need to. Once again, they were going home with fewer pilots than they took off with; it was déjà vu.

Though, Nagase had different emotions all of the sudden. She turned off her radio and started laughing a bit. Even though she was dead, she'd gone out how she'd probably wanted to. Not to mention that Polly Elbe was the same person to the bitter end. She was just snide and she didn't change for anyone...even when she knew that death was coming. What made the deaths of Polly Elbe and Alvin Davenport totally similar was that Kei was never expecting Polly and Chopper to be the kind of people to commit martyrdom of any kind. But neither one of them had any choice, now that she thought about it.

And strangely, but important, Nagase had taken solace in the fact that Polly actually carried the state secret of Kei and David's bizarre intercourse game to the grave...

Polly's death was driven home when Grimm, who had been lined up with Lillian, Cormorance and Fisch in a formation, flew off to the right. No one said a word, as everyone knew what that was. It was the old _missing wingman_ formation. They'd done it before, but this time Grimm did it himself...even though he knew little about that Polly Elbe. But at least he was doing something for someone other than himself...

_**Bright Hill**_

_**Oured, Osea**_

_**January 2, 2017**_

_**0200 hrs**_

President Cohen disliked these late night calls to Lucien Jackson. These time zones were a killer. But she'd gotten used to late nights during this war. His intelligence division, Section Seven, had been working overtime as they tried to work out the details of the war and information that could save lives. But victory was not coming cheap and people were starting to grumble. That was what bothered Mary Cohen the most. She never liked sending people to die for Osea, but truth be told...Versua gave them no choice.

The "blood for oil" campaigns had heated up again. It couldn't be helped. When Grunder collapsed in 2011, Cylaron had entered into a partnership with Dyne-Drive Armorworks, the new military munitions producer of Osea. It was a lose-lose situation. Now every Democratic, left-winged rat from Oured to Kansas came out of the wood works to pile on Mary Cohen. Cohen had been literally running on empty the past few days, surviving off energy drinks and coffee for hours at a time.

But that wasn't important at the moment. She was awaiting that secret, but all important phone call in some back room in the

"Lucien." said Cohen, not needing to even pause.

_Madam President. How are you this evening?_

"Well, the left-wing wolves are at the door. But so far, things are going fine. Though I wish it was at your time and not two in the morning." said Cohen.

_Well, we can't all have what we want. How's the family?_

"Wonderful...and I'm not just saying that."

_I can say this. We're this close to victory. We're right around the corner. But...the bad news is that our current strategy for destroying the Dispater is going to be rather costly, even more than we originally thought. We're expecting a twenty eight percent survival rate._

Cohen raised an eyebrow in shock. "Holy Christ. We've already lost a lot good men in this struggle."

_We're going by a lot of information we already have...and its not much. Mr. Clarke is arranging a meeting with the leadership of the resistance, but their role has somewhat diminished since Operation Antares. I won't lie to you; the Dispater's key information is on lock down. At least the Versuans are doing that right. But, when this war is over and everyone's gas prices are lower...no one is going to be complaining._

"But Jesus H. Christ, Lucien...twenty eight percent!? That is completely unacceptable!" said the President.

_Don't be getting soft on me, Mary. We just need to win, old friend…at any cost. After all, why the hell do you think I brought those pilots into Wardog?_

"I don't care. We can't afford to be treating everyone as expendable at this point!"

_We're all expendable to some degree. Why do you think I selected such those two emotionally racked pilots from the Razgriz...and a group of nut jobs and castoffs? _

"Then you better double your efforts. We're taking all kinds of flak for this blood for oil situation. Let's not drown in it."

_Tell that to the White Crow. They don't seem to care about their civilians anyway. They're lighting more of the oil wells on fire, attacking their own cities. We're doing the best we can..._

Cohen raised her voice an octave, to let Lucien know who was _really_ in charge.

"I don't give a rat's ass about the Versuan people! I care only about John and Jane Somebody who had to bury their nineteen year old soldier because he couldn't dodge superheated electricity. So do your goddamn job...and do it _quickly_." she said.

_I'll get on it._

Cohen hung up the phone and simply walked out of the room. At the end of the hall, she passed by two Secret Service agents who merely nodded to her. She only gave a half nod in return and went back to work. It was going to be yet another sleepless night in Oured.

_**Karbala, Versua**_

_**January 2, 2017**_

_**1845 hrs**_

Sueltana Devia looked out of the window of the ready room. She had been there for some time, waiting for her heroes to return from the darkening sky. She knew that the city where they'd flown had surrendered. Their people realized that the fight was an impossible one. It was typical of the way kids would have their own particular feats of strength. Perhaps this land wasn't as tough as it claimed to be. Sueltana always hated that about people. But at the time, there was no reason to panic. The war was coming to a close.

Or was it?

Sometime before, everyone went nuts. There was plenty of yelling and screaming, cursing and blasting of jet engines. Something had gone wrong.

Sueltana could only hope her benefactors, a word Ava used once, were alright. She expected the obvious result of seven planes returning to action. Soon, after everything had calmed down, the planes began to return. Sueltana counted each one as they landed. But this time...there was a shocker; this time there were only _six_ planes...not seven.

This fact told Sueltana one distinct and brutal fact: someone had died along the way. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. The squadron's designated rescue helicopter had not left...and six planes were returning. There were no sand storms this time; as Sueltana learned from Mr. Alou, there were south of the areas prone to massive sandstorms. And most important of all, the squadron never returned until their job was finished. Someone had died out there...but who?

Sueltana had seen an absurd amount of death and destruction in her life. She'd lived with watching people die and she'd tried to get used to it. _War is an ugly, terrible business,_ said Jonathan once. But now, in the face of the obvious, she learned something important about herself: there was no such thing as getting used to death. That fact was made all too clear when she saw the returning pilots. As she watched with a tearful eye, she saw the six pilots approach the building from the ready room window.

Ms. Elbe was dead. She was not among the six approaching.

The approaching six drug themselves like they'd emerged from days in the desert; their eyes were heavy, their body language was a mixture of anger, exhaustion and sadness. They looked beat up. Sueltana couldn't bear to see it. She ran from the ready room and down the hall. She buried herself beneath her bed to cry her eyes out in privacy. She didn't notice her own rather audible wailing. She covered her ears and closed her eyes, refusing to believe what she had seen. She tried to block it out of her mind. It seemed strange...because the people she'd developed a bond with, Jonathan and Ava, were still alive. But something about Ms. Elbe sent her over the edge.

She kept her eyes closed for a long time. She closed her eyes hoping that it was some horrible dream. It seemed so stupidly ironic to try to attempt this. And it was then, that she realized how twisted her own mind had become. A million images flooded into her brain, images of death and destruction. Visions of the aforementioned showed up in her mind; some of which weren't even true memories of events. She found herself being shaken from her nightmare by a set of hands. Sueltana couldn't understand what was going on until she looked up and found herself in the embrace of that pretty Ava. Sueltana wasn't sure how she found her, forgetting that her screaming had woken up the dead.

"It'll be okay. Shhhh...It'll be okay. You're going to be alright." said Ava. Ava deeply wished this girl was her own. She wouldn't abandon her now.

Sueltana could finally breathe again...but the horrible feelings were still there. She tried to shake herself from the embrace of Ava...but she could not. She decided not to resist anymore. Sueltana did not know what to feel anymore. Was this world truly a cold, evil place filled with only a handful of good people...or was it the other way around. Was this Versua such a nightmare that it stood out as a complete aberration (another one of Ava's big words) in the world?

Had Sueltana's entire life had become nothing but a nightmare?

She couldn't think about it too much now. She didn't want to know. She'd realized she'd found the one place that was the escape from the nightmare. It was this place and these people. This woman who held Sueltana in her arms like the scared child she was. Ava didn't even care or hesitate. She just did it. She did it without quarrel...as if Sueltana was her own daughter. Regardless of whatever reason...Sueltana finally felt like herself again; and she knew one distinct fact: she didn't want to leave now.

That was the only choice considering the alternative. Versua had long become a nightmare at its very core. She wanted to stay with these people for the rest of her life.

Next: Chapter 22: The Passion of Sueltana Devia


	22. The Passion of Sueltana Devia

Chapter 22: The Passion of Sueltana Devia

"_If you want to see how far a society has progressed, one only needs to look at two things: its prisons…and its children." - Ella Tsagi_

_**Karbala, Versua**_

_**January 3, 2017**_

_**2000 hrs**_

She was not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line Sueltana Devia realized she loved the members of Wardog Squadron. She loved them as if they were her own family.

She had spent nearly four years living a wayfaring life. Shuttled from one place to another as her homeland tore itself apart, she'd seen all kinds of horrors that a child never should have seen. She'd watched friends and family die; some by war, a few by their own hand. She had told Mr. Alou about things she'd seen, like self-mutilation she. He didn't seem all that surprised. But Jonathan and Ava were. They were rather shocked things like that were going on. The girl concluded that such things were alien to the Oseans.

She never had the abstract thought to understand that it was not so much the idea of suicides, gas attacks, and masochism that shocked them. It was the idea of Sueltana relaying those sordid tales altogether that made it so shocking.

For all the things Sueltana knew about her own land, when it came to this Osea she knew only what she was told from the others. And despite what the others told her, she mainly listened to Jonathan and Ava. Mr. Preston was reliable too, since he was friends with them. She felt that they were being the most honest. She wanted to see this land, and wanted more than anything for one of these people, anyone...to take her there. She knew that Wardog, as they called themselves, had entertained the idea.

Mr. Fisch was always talking about casinos or something like that. Ms. Izzo would have been reliable, had she not been so weird. Ms. Elbe, when she was still alive, only talked at length about some rather wonderful place called Boston. Of course, Mr. Alou shot down her claims about how great it was, saying that it was a land of "windblown, ruddy-faced cynical people." Sueltana didn't know what all those words meant, but she deduced (a word that Ava used a lot) that this Boston place was filled with a bunch of unfriendly, heavy-drinking mean people.

But she didn't think so badly about this place when Ms. Elbe died.

Sueltana had clutched this lifeline in hope it would be her ticket to that glorious far, faraway land. She had been fortunate they'd accepted her and now they'd treated her as if she was one of their squadron. In this place, despite the fact they were moving around a lot, she felt a level of consistency and home with these people. She was used to moving around, but never with the same people. She'd learned that this squadron had been thrown together at the last minute only two months ago, but now they were getting closer all the time.

But Sueltana could clearly see that the longer this terrible war went on, the less and less pilots and soldiers there were. It was simple math, and Sueltana was not even that good at math. First it was that Michael, the Mr. Paulo, and then Ms. Elbe. She only hoped that no one else would die. If Jonathan and Ava died...that would be nothing less than a world shattering disaster. The baseline idea of attrition had occurred to her.

Wardog didn't feel all that sad about her dying. They were sad, but not as sad as Sueltana expected. Of course, she'd seen this before with Mr. Paulo. Sueltana had learned from Mr. Alou that air combat was fast and death could be very fast. She had difficulty understanding that concept at first, because she couldn't quite wrap her pre-adolescent mind around this space/time theory. They simply didn't have time to grieve like Sueltana would for her relatives. For the longest time she thought her parents were still alive somewhere. But now, she'd let it go. She realized she'd never see them again and despite how hard it was...she had to let go. In some ways, she was becoming like the brave people she'd been surrounded with.

They may have grieved for Ms. Elbe for a brief window...but they certainly didn't feel bad about the death of this Masson person. He was apparently the leader of this land. This was the man who invaded her homeland and forced so many to run away in fear. Mr. Alou was particularly happy about it; and so was Sueltana. He got what he deserved; at least, that was what the girl managed to interpret from the others. But...should she have felt this way? She ended up judging herself because of those feelings. But Wardog didn't care at all. Sueltana knew they longer cared about anyone but themselves. It was in this alien land that Sueltana about learned the idea of "acceptable selfishness".

These people, the people she loved, only wanted to go home as soon as they could. Mr. Alou was the only one who had a wife and kids of his own. Sueltana was amazed at how Mr. Alou, or Artemis, as they called him, survived time and time again. He always took the most risks and was often the first person to volunteer for anything. She shouldn't have been so amazed considering that was expected of Cormorance since he took Mr. Paulo's place as the squadron lead.

But Sueltana knew a lot of things about air combat now. She'd learned that it was customary to call a pilot an ace, once he'd "shot down" five planes or more. She originally imagined such a feat would be hard to do. But since Wardog's pilots had kills in double digits...she concluded that these pilots were rightly the gods and goddesses among the Allied flyers. She'd learned about their weapons. The pilots used "missiles", airplane versions of guns, to fight the enemy. Because everything in the military had such advanced, techy/computer-like "neologisms" (another big word that Ava used) to them, pilots had nicknames for everything.

The missiles had different ranges depending whether or not a plane was close, medium or far away. "Sidewinders" were for planes that were really close, "Sparrows" were for planes that were not close but not far away, and "Slammers" were for planes that were really, really far away. "Mavericks" were missiles that hit things on the ground. "Bombs" were self-explanatory. She'd seen the results of those back home...

She had learned about the chain of command...of sorts. In Wardog, things were bit unusual. Usually, people of lower rank called people of higher rank, sir or ma'am. But Mr. Alou and the others did not. They went by first name. She also learned about the planes they used. Lillian used a brilliant analogy to cars to describe the differences in the planes they used.

Bored, she decided to leave the ready tent. The others were coming back from another meeting. The squadron almost always had their 8:00 pilots-only meeting. There they would discuss trivial details, current events, and compare kill scores. But it was usually a mix of bad language and obscene dialog. But they always entertained.

Every so often, Sueltana liked to eavesdrop on the meetings. With the night fully in the sky, Sueltana snuck over to the tent and crawled behind it. She could easily hear the voices of the pilots inside. The first two to speak were Jonathan and Preston.

_So, Masson is dead then?_

_Thank god he's gone. That guy had it coming._

_And his daughter is taking over? I saw her on TV, she's not that attractive._

_Ooookay...Lillian...umm...let's change the subject._

_What are you saying, Ava?_

_Well...oh for the love of God! Let's get this out of the way; what the hell are you Lillian? Are you straight or are you a lesbian...or whatever orientation happens to be cool at the time? It's driving me insane._

_Ava, why don't you go fu..._

_Enough! Jesus Christ people! Let's get back to the issues._

_So, Mr. Gambling Man...How do you think it happened?_

_Well...Preston, I'll take that and raise you. I'd say a heart attack did him in._

_It had to be a coup or something. That guy didn't look out of shape when I saw him on TV._

_No, it couldn't have been a coup. Those who usually start a coup d'état do it because they are pissed off at their leaders._

_I don't blame them. Versua's had some terrible leaders. Why else would they have rebelled in the first place? I mean, they've made a laundry list of mistakes during this war. Remember I used to live here. I'm not surprised at all_.

_But...if this was in fact a coup...then it had to be from those who thought they could control Versua better._

_Well, if isn't the new Secretary of Defense...Lillian Izzo. Let's give her a big round of applause!_

_Why are you so testy today, Preston?_

_Because, nothing's changed! They're still fighting this war like a bunch of idiots. Can't they see the jig is up!_

And once again, Mr. Alou became the voice of reason.

_This is about your girlfriend...isn't it? You just want this to end? Well, so does everyone else. The only thing we can do is to keep fighting as long as their willing to fight to the bitter end...or command tells us to stop._

Sueltana remembered that story. She had overheard it from Ava. It was just terrible. Whoever this girl was, Lauren if she remembered right, had some terrible days ahead of her. When she heard that terrible story, Sueltana never took walking for granted again.

_Forget all that! There are more important things going on! It seems those corporate whores at Cylaron didn't waste any time trying to take advantage._

_Again with Cylaron!? Why do you have to be like this Ava? They're just doing their jobs._

_Two days after we save the city from complete annihilation, Cylaron shows up and starts re-building refineries? Come on! This is ludicrous!_

She remembered when Mr. Alou and Mr. Fisch took her to that Cylaron thing. It was wonderful, but Ava was resentful at their presence in this land. Sueltana could never figure out why that was. Why was Ava being such a stick in the mud about this place? She knew nothing about business and the cold hearted bottom line of Corporate Osea.

_Like we have any control over that! We're soldiers. We're just doing what we're ordered to do. Las time I checked, according to Command we're too stupid to think for ourselves. That's why they're in Command and we're not._

_Polly died in vain. She died to save Cylaron's oil investment...not the city. Not us. She died for the oil! Don't you feel ashamed?!_

_It's not like she cared about the enemy. Let's just be thankful the city wasn't destroyed completely. _

_She did what she felt was right. I don't blame her. We all have our own reasons for being here. Let's not tear each other down because one of us has a different reason. We can't judge anyone really. _

Sueltana could tell that Jonathan was trying to be the peacemaker.

_What about the Dispater?_

The girl's eyes bulged in shock. She'd seen what that weapon did to that Valuria city on the Allied TV. It was the weapon that made Mr. Preston's girlfriend a cripple. When she heard the name of that thing, hatred came inside her heart.

_Command's been analyzing the recon photos. We're looking at one tough nut to crack. Crazy anti aircraft, SAMs and several airfields of planes… _

Sueltana remembered that SAMs and AAA were the pilots' way of talking about guns on the ground that shot at airplanes. Judging by his tone, she knew that this terrible weapon was going to be extremely dangerous.

_I just wish someone would defect and like get us architectural plans for that thing...like in Usea in '04._

_Ever the historian, Lillian. That would end it in a heartbeat. But...how lucky are we going to get anyway?_

_So, what you're saying is...that this essentially is a suicide mission? I don't do suicide missions. Count me out._

_So I guess we can count you out on everything, Fisch?_

_Well, Lucien said we were assembled for the sole purpose of taking that weapon down. _

_But he never said anything about bringing down aerial titans like that...whatever the hell that thing was._

_So...what's the battle plan? Just fly into that thing? News flash people! We've already tried that and it didn't work the last three times!_

Sueltana knew they were about to go after each other's throats now.Now Ava was about to take Mr. Fisch to task.

_You act as if you have a better plan. Fine, I want to hear it. I want to hear what you intend to do._

_...uh...uh...uh...I don't know. I'm not a master of plans Ava._

_That's what I thought. So shut your damn mouth and stop bitching about every detail Fisch!_

_It's a frigging legitimate concern Ava! I want more than a thirty percent chance of survival! That's bullshit! I got people back home too you know._

Then Cormorance jumped in again...

_That's enough, you two! And while you do have a valid point Andrew...there's nothing we can do but work with what we have!_

After a long pause, Preston brought up another point.

_When is this operation?_

_If we don't get any additional intelligence, we're making the attack in a week. We'll be backed up by Mercury, Vega, and Omega Squadrons._

_Wow…I'm amazed. It's still thirty percent chances; it's not good enough._

_Lillian...again, do you have another plan?_

Sueltana got a bit spooked when heard chairs being moved inside the room and she decided to go elsewhere. Still bored and tired of eavesdropping, she decided to walk over to the media room, which was actually just another tent. This place was always boxed up and haphazardly maintained as the squadron seemed to just move around on a weekly basis. The media room was a place where Wardog would break down video recordings of their missions.

The cameras were mounted inside of each of their planes to monitor each battle they fought in. It was amazing to this girl, for whom the concepts of such technology were alien. She even watched one of them weeks ago. It was amazing to see what these planes could do. They were flying upside down, spinning around or what have you. It was like a circus in the sky.

However, occasionally, they would watch actual movies on their "downtime". Some of the cinema was a bit much for Sueltana, and acting as her parents would have, her adopted family would not allow her to watch them. Of course, the occasional suitable movie would come along. Most of them were mailed in by Potenza, the wife of Mr. Alou. And everyone had their taste in movies. Fisch and Mr. Preston liked those action movies. Ms. Izzo liked the horror movies; though Sueltana didn't need to be informed by the others...she saw Ms. Izzo's quarters and that in of itself was a horror movie.

Jonathan liked those strange, hard to follow "indie" movies. Alou, strangely, liked the laugh out loud comedies, and Ava liked the tear jerking romantic movies. The only movie Sueltana liked was a movie called _Band Apart._ It wasn't like the bloody, violent, dirty, foul-language, or naughty laced movies that some of the others were into; no, it was more of a movie that was a combination of the others, one that was more appropriate for a ten and a half year old girl.

Her favorite scene was the main character and the woman he was dating started dancing for no apparent reason. It was goofy, funny, and yet...almost spellbinding. She was so obsessed with the dancing that a few days ago she imitated the dancing in front of a laughing Ms. Elbe.

She thought it was funny as hell. Now Sueltana missed her more than ever.

Depressed, Sueltana dug through the discs in the designated box, desperately looking for the movie. After finding it, she spent the better part of fifteen minutes trying to manipulate the player herself, as she'd never done it herself until now. When she found it, she began her dance sync with the female dancer. She'd finally figured out how to loop the scene as she was determined to get it right this time. And then, as she danced...she started to cry. She wanted that other guy with her. She wanted someone, anyone to dance with her. The only boy she ever liked, Sero, had died a year ago from stepping on a land mine.

Her father would have danced with her for sure. He always did. That was the last memory he had of her. It was at some party or something, and her dad guided her around the floor...and it was the best time of her life. But he was probably gone now and she couldn't hold it back. She started crying. Then...as she started the waterworks, Jonathan showed up and looked at her for a long moment. She turned and saw him. Sueltana felt embarrassed. She couldn't let him see her crying like this. It was different than with Ava. She was a girl...she understood. But she couldn't let Jonathan see that.

"What's the matter?" Jonathan asked approaching her.

"Nothing..." she said. But it was so poorly said. She hadn't quite stopped the tears...which made her statement come out forced and rather obvious.

"Well, I'm not going to believe that. People just don't cry without a reason." David said, coming down to her height and grabbing her, "What's wrong?"

Sueltana had a flood of memories in her brain. She finally straightened herself up and tried to relayed her thoughts to her. She pointed to the television and her face contorted in a confused, scared cat-like visage.

"I love this part of the movie and...I've got no one to dance with...that's all I wanted. Then...I thought about my dad and he always danced with me. Now..." said Sueltana still crying.

Jonathan shook his head. Sueltana couldn't read minds obviously...but if she could it would sound like this: _I can't tell her that her parents are dead. I got to make something up...something a parent would say._

He held her to her shoulder, and then let her go as soon as she tried to hold back her tears. He patted her head for a moment.

"Well, he's not gone unless you truly think he's gone. He's still alive because you remember him. That's enough for him because there's nothing worse than being forgotten." said Jonathan.

Sueltana dried her eyes and looked at Jonathan like a sick puppy.

"Will you...dance with me? Just this once?" she asked.

"Sure thing angel; but that looks so easy." said Jonathan, acting rather cocky.

"No it's not! I can dance better than you!" said Sueltana pointing at her.

"Oh...I see how it is. Okay then...let's give it a try. I love this movie too." David said, picking up the remote. He'd seen the movie a dozen times and knew the moves...but Sueltana was acting all cocky now. Sueltana took the remote away from David, who was happy to give to the so-called "Lady of the Dance".

Sueltana let out the biggest smile once he performed that action. Jonathan's infectious smile hid a deep and profound thought in his head. Again, Sueltana couldn't read his mind, but it was more along the lines of this:

_I called Catherine 'angel' once...is this kid...she looks just like her if she were older. I can't let this kid go. I've got to try and give her a future. There's no way I'm leaving her in this hellhole of a country. No way on this planet. But...I called Catherine angel. I always called her that..._

Jonathan then suddenly looked sad.

"What's wrong?" asked

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about something." Jonathan said.

Sueltana didn't ask more. That was as good an explanation for her.

They moved some of the chairs and boxes out of the way, leaving the middle of the tent empty. Just like in the movie, they took off their shoes and socks in unison. They stood opposite each other, both with their heads down. It looked so bizarre. A twenty nine year old man at nearly six feet in a flight suit and a ten and half year old girl at three and three quarter feet wearing flood pants and a red shirt standing apart from each other. A light wind came over them and both individuals' black hair swayed in the wind. Sueltana had her eyes closed as she held the remote in her hands. After a few tense seconds, she played the segment.

The music was a rather well done piano riff mixed with horns and guitar. Over it was the voice of a swaying, swooning type of singer from the 1950s. Just like in the movie...Jonathan started swinging and moving his arms.

Sueltana then started shaking her body with her arms akimbo and her head bobbing up and down. This went on for about five minutes. She started forming a peace sign with her fingers and used them to cross along her eyes, her palms of her hands facing Jonathan. But she kept her stride and maintained focus on Jonathan's eyes as Jonathan did the same to her. But it looked awkward since she obviously wasn't as tall as the female in the movie. Jonathan did the same type of motion, but instead of a peace sign, he used his entire palm.

Then she broke that, and started moving away from him, shaking her body with her right arm over her head. Sueltana smiled. She was on fire now. This was most fun she'd ever had four years of terror and vagabond life. Her smile was infectious as Jonathan began to do the same. He had looked embarrassed, but he was into it now. Sueltana was doing everything perfectly, not wanting to screw up the dance for Jonathan to laugh at her. Jonathan struggled...but he was having fun too. It was unbelievable. Two people from two different worlds and age groups were doing some corny dance out in the middle of the desert.

And Sueltana had no idea that this man had faced down airships and falling satellites. She had no idea that Jonathan had terrorized her country's air force six years prior as a man called Blaze. All she knew was this kind man who treated her like she was special. He treated her as if she were his own flesh and blood.

That continued for awhile, and then the dance reached the instrumental phase. There were no words sung...but the pair continued to dance. Then, Sueltana couldn't wait to unleash her favorite part of the dance. She stood on her toes a bit, put her left arm on her hip and her right hand crossing up and touching the side of her head with the back of her palm. She kept her eyes on Jonathan...and just started laughing; breaking the hypnotic trance they'd been in.

Jonathan returned the laugh. She began a series of ballet-like steps as she moved towards him, maintaining the strange statue-looking pose she was in. Jonathan backed up, shaking his body and snapping his fingers. Finally they separated a bit, continuing to repeat the series of dances as the music continued.

And then...everything stopped. It was like a proverbial record scratch when Lucien Jackson walked into the tent, utterly bewildered.

"What the hell are you two doing?!" said Lucien Jackson. Both stopped dancing, and looked rather sheepishly at each other...and finally back at Jackson.

"Oh...just...having a little fun." said David.

"Imbeciles." he said, quietly...but still loud enough to be heard. Jackson shook his head as Jonathan put back on his shoes and socks, his feet sandy from the barefoot dancing. As Sueltana followed suit, she returned a sour look at Mr. Jackson.

Sueltana was mad. It was one thing for him to ruin their fun...but to openly call them..._imbeciles_!? Sueltana was not an expert on vocabulary...but she knew what that meant..and that ticked her off. Jonathan looked equally furious. Jackson looked at Jonathan as he walked over.

"I came here to let you know that we've captured a very important prisoner. We're going to be working on her because I think she may have some knowledge about the Dispater, given her status. We know this; she apparently was in one of the Red Terminators that have been battling you since the beginning of the war. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet her before I get my interrogation underway." said Jackson.

"Why not?" said Jonathan, and rather frustrated at that. Both men walked out of the tent.

Sueltana knew what those "Red Terminators" were. She'd only heard about it from the others dozens of times. They were planes that were as good as Wardog, and as fast as Wardog. She even saw them once, peeking in on a film session. They looked evil and scary. They were like the monsters in Ms. Izzo's horror movies. She followed them out of the tent and over to a solid building near the tent city.

Now they seemed to have a face to the enemy. Now Sueltana desperately wanted to see this person; that and stick it a little to Mr. Jackson's face. That presented a major difficulty.

The command post, or HQ as it was called, was always under heavy guard from the front. Sueltana had been inside once, only to escape the desert heat when Cormorance came back from that Cylaron excursion. The HQ was in a solid, brick building. She'd seen those buildings once before. She'd seen them in her homeland. It was apparently some kind of cooling station. And she knew they were easy for a lithe person to get inside because Sueltana and a few other kids had actually done this before when they were refugees. Subsequently, they got in a lot of trouble for it.

There was only one safe way to get inside. There was a slanted, slide shaped vent on the side of the building. That would blow extra air out. The way to do it was to climb through when the air didn't blow. Sueltana counted and that took exactly ten seconds. The vent was big enough to crawl though and the guards never watched it. The problem was getting up it before the air blew. One would have to crawl up the shaft _fast_. Boys could do it easier than girls...but adrenaline filled her now. She was determined to get up that tube.

"One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand, four-one thousand..." she said.

At ten, the air stopped and Sueltana climbed into the vent, crawling up the vent, holding on to the sides as if they were monkey bars. She climbed and climbed, her voice becoming louder and more and more nervous as she said the same numerical repetition. Finally, she made up as the cool air blew outward. It was cold, but Sueltana was running on nerves now. And she had no fear of being heard if one moved with the air.

But where was Jonathan? Since they found a prisoner, Sueltana remembered from Mr. Fisch that they kept the prisoners away from the entrance. That meant the far corner. She had already come in the right direction. She crawled down the vent and into another one where the air didn't blow. Dirt and dust were getting all over her clothes. However, they were still in the desert...so what difference did that make? Finally, she got to a place she could see out into a room. She'd found the right one on the first try. But then she realized her view was rather poor. She had to be as quiet as a church mouse though.

She could see Jonathan well and she could Mr. Jackson...only barely. Below, he saw the back of the woman in question. She had brown hair, which was rather tussled.

_David, I want you to meet the one and only...Xalia Masson._

Sueltana was confused. Masson was also the name of the ruler of this land. But he was dead now? Was this woman his wife? It wasn't, but Sueltana didn't know that at the time. She knew that old men liked to marry younger women. But that question would be answered soon enough...

_Did Mr. Jackson call him...David?_ Sueltana was dumbfounded. His name was Jonathan...unless it was a middle name or a nickname. But that didn't make much sense...

_You mean..._

_Yep, Masson's own daughter was one of the ones who were shooting at you up in the sky. A day after her father dies, she shows up into our hands._

_So, you're the one who leads the Deceivers, no?_

_Well, I don't lead them...but I am one of the important people._

_You've tortured my lead for so many weeks. It drove a rift between us. I loved him but...he was so obsessed with killing you people that it distanced us. We became so far apart. You had more than the simple effect of killing us off._

_So you just...walked here?_

_After the disaster in Disra...I couldn't fight anymore. It didn't make any sense. But I'm no celebrity...contrary to what your superior seems to believe._

_Well, at least someone has some sense..._

Suddenly, the Versuan woman started to laugh.

_What's so funny?_

_Your subordinate...this pilot...I thought he'd be more attractive._

Sueltana had to suppress a chuckle herself.

_Well, I've got to pick up the maps for Kei and me. I'll see you later._

Sueltana was a bit shocked. _Who in the world was Kei_? What was going on? When Jonathan left, Mr. Jackson stood in front of the woman for a long minute. His body movement was a bit different. It was if he'd turned into a different person. There were only two of them in the room. Sueltana was beginning to get nervous now. After some harsh words were exchanged...

_So, what do you want me to say? I don't know a damn thing about the Dispater. I haven't seen it. So what would I know? My father is dead, my sister is carrying on the fight...and yet I'm here because I know it's over. And you want me to answer questions about stuff I've never seen?_

_I had a feeling this would happen. No one cares really what happens to you...at least back in Osea. I mean, your precious father just HAD to start this war. And you people just HAD to fight and we answered. And we've kicked your asses up until now! And quite frankly...it feels really, really good._

_So what? So you can take our resources? Fine, have them. See if I care._

_I know you don't know much about the Dispater. But, this weapon has killed a lot of good men and women who had to abandon their families and now those homes are missing sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters..._

_You think your people have suffered? Mine has for many years! My father wasn't a perfect person...but he did unify us! He took away our infighting. _

_Please. Spare me the unification! Your father is a war criminal that got off because of some stupid technicality. He's killed men, women, and children all over this country to expand his empire. A lot of people had to die to be your father..._

_No...I don't believe he'd be monster like that. He has done some bad things...but suggesting genocide, that's ludicrous!_

_I should have known. Figures I wouldn't get a biased opinion from you…your father's own. I would have given anything to kill your father…or at least put him away forever. However, it seems Osea has a bit of a soft mentality about some things...the wrong things._

_What are you talking about?_

_I don't even know why I bother. Are you so blind to the corruption that lies inside your empire, Xalia?_

_I'm just a soldier! I'm a pilot! I'm not a part of my father's government. If you hate us so much, then end this war and be done with it! Just don't destroy us because you have a grudge against us for a war __**we**__ didn't start. My father did! _

_Do you have any idea...how much I don't care about you or your family?_

Sueltana started to become afraid. She noticed the tone in Mr. Jackson's voice change and it sounded like something out of a horror movie. He began to sit down right in front of the Verusan woman.

_What the hell do you think?_

_Xalia, allow me to be honest with you. I...despise your kind. I hate you; I hate your father, your sisters...your entire country. Your father somehow convinced all the people in this country...to believe a foolish delusion that you matter in this world. You had a crazy person as a father, you have a just ridiculously backwards culture, your people will believe anything they're told, and this desert...this desert __**alone**__ is a reason to hate this pathetic land! You've contributed nothing to the world but death! And no one is going to care if you're dead. No one is going to care if everyone in this land were to die tomorrow. We have lives, we have jobs, we have families, we have millions of options that our forefathers gave their lives for. Your forefathers could convince your predecessors of anything under the sun. Your people are nothing more than lunatics and betrayers; irrelevant in the grand scheme of things._

Sueltana was really scared now. She was seeing a side of Lucien Jackson that no one had _ever_ seen. The woman, this Xalia...was also scared stiff. Then…she started laughing.

_Why are you laughing?_

_I'd never thought I'd meet someone so misguided, cold and calculating in my life. I honestly didn't think you Oseans were so...heartless._

_Allow me to enlighten you as to what…I really do. My job is to interrogate, and torture...and kill…people like you. I've done a lot of this over a few years. My purpose to make sure my boss, the President of the Osean Federation...can run the country, read her daughter her bedtime stories, and go to sleep in peace without worrying about some terrorist or enemy threat. And I will do anything to make sure that happens because she a friend of mine...and friends don't let down friends. Not to mention the fact that...I'm really the only one who can mostly operate by my own rules...as long as I get the job done. And in my line of work, I've done some things that...most people would regret. But I have no such quarrels...because I have no compassion for my enemies. None; and a person in my position can't afford to have compassion. People in Osea can sleep at night because of men like me._

If Sueltana needed anymore proof that Mr. Jackson was an evil man, it was coming soon enough. The girl had noticed that Mr. Jackson had been talking to this Xalia with his right arm behind his back. Why would he be doing that...unless he was hiding something?

_I don't care about your people. And to be honest, most of the guys on the front line don't either. Some bleeding heart liberal may...but to Johnny Somebody, the nineteen year old private, doesn't care. He's got his parents a brother or sister…or maybe a few siblings…and some girlfriend that wants him home. You think he truly...honestly gives a rat's ass about your so-called suffering? Most of your problems were self-inflicted...and a lot of people know that. That's why they don't care. And I stay up at night, just wishing your country would go away. I could __**kill**__ you… right now. But...I do have some rules I have to follow. And it wouldn't be in good taste. But to show you just how much I don't care about you or your people...I have a present for you._

Suddenly, Sueltana knew what he was hiding. He was hiding some stick-like device but whatever it was, it made Xalia jump and writhe around in pain. He was holding that stick against Xalia's skin. She was screaming and crying like a little girl, a girl like Sueltana, would if faced with almost unbearable pain. Sueltana thought she knew what it was. It looked like something the police would use on a criminal. Then…the screaming came and Sueltana felt very small and frightened. The pained voice of this woman drove into the soul of the girl and she began to hurt herself.

She fell to the ground and he still shocked her for about thirty seconds. Sueltana wanted to say something..._anything_ to stop this madness. But she couldn't say anything. It was then that Sueltana realized she was in _way_ over her head. Xalia was curled up on the ground. Lucien simply looked over her and began to walk off in disdain.

_One of my pilots was tortured by that same method. One of your father's men did that to a woman much like yourself. So you may consider us...even. _

Sueltana was scared out of her mind. _What was I thinking?_ She immediately got the hell out of there. She backed up, panting and afraid. She almost got lost as she tried to get out of the vent. Was this what he always did? Was this woman a bad person? She had no time to ponder such things.

Finally, after some maneuvering, she slid out of the vent and ran away while looking back...right into the chest of Jonathan Sosabee. Both were shocked at each other's appearance. Sueltana was scared stiff. She knew she had done it this time. She thought she'd made a mistake before...Jonathan's actions removed all doubt. Jonathan grabbed her arm, looked angrily at her and spoke with a tone he'd never heard him use.

"What the...what in the world were you doing in there?!" he asked her.

Sueltana tried to come up with words...but there was nothing there. She couldn't speak at all other than, _uh...uh..._

"I just...I just wanted to see..." she finally stammered out.

Jonathan looked angry. That wasn't good...

"What were you thinking?! Look, don't _ever_ do that again! You could have gotten yourself killed in there!" shouted David.

Sueltana tried to stop the words she was going to say, but...in Jonathan's eyes, they couldn't be more poignant. He was right...it was a stupid thing to do after the fact.

"I...wasn't." she said, looking rather embarrassed. She shuffled her feet. Jonathan's face fell into his palm and he looked at Sueltana like she was retarded.

"Oh, Jesus Christ…look, just...don't do that again! Do you understand me?" Jonathan said, still holding her arm and almost shaking her in rage at her actions.

It was then that Sueltana had an epiphany. Jonathan was doing _exactly_ what her father would do when she'd get in trouble. It was amazing.

"...yes." said Sueltana meekly.

"Look, I know you want to know more stuff but...you've got to be careful! This is a very dangerous place! We could die just _standing_ here! And you go into an air cooling vent!? This isn't a playground. You're lucky no one found you in there or we'd _both_ be in trouble!" said Jonathan, looking away.

"I'm sorry. I..." said Sueltana, trying to apologize. Jonathan let her go and knelt down to her diminutive frame.

Somehow, Sueltana was not afraid anymore. She felt...strange. This man really cared about her...

"Look, we care about you...but you can't do stupid things like that. You have to think before you do things! And I and Ava and Cormorance and Lillian...all of us are thinking about you too. You have remember that when you go into places or do things. Think about us too." said Jonathan, in a firm, but a little more compassionate voice.

For a long moment, she simply stayed quiet, looking down to the ground. She then looked back Jonathan in shame. He shook his head and thought for a long moment.

_What...am I becoming a father again? If Catherine had done something like this I'd go ape...I can't let her go. Not now._

"Okay. Let's get out of here." he said calmly.

It felt strange though. They walked back, and it seemed like the issue had passed on. As they reached the tent city, Sueltana saw the media tent. Sueltana turned to Jonathan.

"Can we do the dance again?" she asked. Jonathan was taken aback at first.

"...okay. Let's do it. Though I think Ava might be a better dance partner than you." said Jonathan after a long pause.

Sueltana was shocked.

"Aw! Are you kidding me?! She can't do it as well as I can!" the girl protested. They continued to walk, and David put his arm around her...and Sueltana did the same thing.

They truly could have passed as father and daughter. Sueltana looked at Jonathan's smile. Again, she couldn't read his mind. But the smile on his lips and the message inside his brain told the same thing:

_Well, I can't be too hard on her. God, I did some stupid things when I was kid too. But...damn that Lucien. I wish he'd just go away. I want this war to end so I can be rid of this man. But, we've got to get this kid back to St. Helena. She's just Catherine was...I'd wish we'd had her as a baby...then we could truly start over. But, I'll take this as a blessing nonetheless. _

Sueltana smiled again. Now, she truly felt like she was a member of a family. She'd found happiness, she found trouble, and she'd found herself being yelled at like a child would be for getting in trouble. More importantly, she found love...and concern. It certainly felt like a family to Sueltana Devia. Wardog was her family now. The child could only wonder how much closer this family could get. She tried to push what she saw into the back of her mind.

She knew that bringing it up would get her into more trouble...so she wisely kept her mouth shut for now. In her mind, Jonathan...or David, or whatever...represented the true life she wanted. Jonathan was a good person and the fact he'd yelled at her for doing something that was stupid only drove that point home. It still remained in the back of her mind.

Elsewhere, the Verusans' world was cracking apart at the seams and no one was safe from the shattering. A young woman looked into a mirror while getting ready for the day...unaware that it was about to shatter right in front of her.

Next: Chapter 23: The Shattered Mirror


	23. The Shattered Mirror

Chapter 23: The Shattered Mirror

"_What do you say to a man that by his own admission has no soul?" – Excerpt from "No Country for Old Men"_

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**January 4, 2017**_

_**0700 hrs**_

Sasha Masson had to pull the greatest acting job in her life if she wanted to get through this tour...without killing the trio of psychopaths standing in front of her: Percival, Portia, and Zorba. Sasha had long read the diary of Portia left to her by Carlo Tenenbaum. The black cloaked guards grilled her for more than an hour before she was released. But she told them nothing except the modified version of the truth. That truth being that she'd been tortured by the Looking Glass.

But the real horrifying truth lay in the diary of Portia Masson. There was no mistaking it. It was no forgery. This was for real. Sasha's heart had become sick with the death of her father. She'd become sick to her stomach with everything she'd seen and heard so far. She just wanted it to end. It was then she realized that Tenenbaum had been right. If the world was going to change, she had to become proactive. Phase One was to see this Dispater with her own eyes. Oddly enough, Portia agreed.

Sasha was using every ounce of self control not to shake with rage. Her body language was so strange, that it almost gave it away. The fact that her father and Graysel had been buried over night without Sasha's knowledge, plus Portia's opinions about them in her diary, the implausibility of their deaths, plus the cold, creepy atmosphere of the people surrounding her sister...she knew their deaths were no accident. Sasha knew that someone had whacked them, and Sasha had a feeling she knew who was responsible. And while their deaths were tragic, she realized the horrifying truth about the people in her father's circle. They all deserved what they had coming to them. Her uncle's transgressions were the most painful of all.

Portia, William, Graysel, Zorba, Makin, Lashus, Percival, Rossi, Crixus, Morales...they all deserved whatever end they would receive or already received.

All that was needed to was read the details of the journal. Apparently, there was a fellow named Rory Lashus who kept it in some secure vault. How the Looking Glass found it was beyond Sasha's mind. Inside the journal were Portia's insights into life...and downright creepy ones at that.

_May 21, 2010 - I'm so excited. My father has finally given me an important task. I'm actually going to be the manager of labor for father's new project. The project is going to serve a symbol for our new found unity. Or so he says. I'll be working with some of my father's most trusted men. That Praeten Percival is a bit of a louse and a bit desperate, however. He doesn't fit the type of individual that would be interested in any kind of female companionship; him nor Morales. As I understand it, Percival and Morales were once part of the Orchid secret police._

_June 21, 2010 - The superstructure was the easy bit. Some of it was based off an ancient ruin. Praeten said that the Belkans actually inhabited this place during their campaigns here in the eighties. The hard part is the construction of the tower itself and its underground sections. From my estimation, it will take about three to four years to clear out all the caves and add the power sections. I've been rounding up most of the labor. There are least 7,000 in the initial force. Mos of these people were refugees, criminals, resistance members, and political dissidents. The useless castoffs of society are to be used for our grunt work. Praeten felt some pity for them, which was ironic considering that he and that Lashus man did a lot of torture...er...interrogation. Work is proceeding faster than I expected, but...our country is not quite unified yet. But progress is going very fast in the war. _

_August 25, 2010 - Something strange happened to me several days ago. One of the workers almost escaped and one of the guards shot him. I don't know why...but I actually liked it. I can't explain it. Up until now I entertained myself with the dreams of someday replacing my father. But...it seems as if I like to see people die. It's a wonderful feeling really. Now I know what the men and women of Orchid felt like. Maybe I should get involved in some the...punishment the workers endure._

_January 2, 2011- Victory! I actually lost the diary for a bit...but now I'm writing again. But my father has claimed hegemony over the entire land! All the more reason to be patient. But, the coup fell apart. What a shame. What a shame. I could be ruling this land right now. Oh well, good things come to she who waits. My annoying sister turns sixteen today. I have more important things to worry about than the birthday of that girl. But, then again, a part of me would much rather buy that annoying prissy girl a present than deal with the daily grind of dealing with this slow production. Don't these workers realize we have deadlines to meet! Unbelievable! _

_January 17, 2011 - Many of the initial workers have long since died off. I'll have to get back to work getting new labor together. I'm going to comb the outlying villages for tribal loyalists. We're getting regular help now. Most of the workers from that group come from Valuria. I've always loved that city. No chance of insurgency in that land. We're also dealing with a lot of escaping prisoners. I decided to spice things up. Morales had my back on this decision. The prisoners were rounded up into groups of ten. If one escaped, the entire group would be shot. Amazingly, it took three tries for the people to get the message. I did it all personally. I killed them all myself! I want them to have nightmares about me. Maybe I should try the old fashioned whip or chain or something. Up until recently, I never thought I'd take pleasure in other people's suffering. I guess I was wrong._

_February 27, 2011 - Oh dear God! There's some kind of sickness going around the construction site! The paid workers are being evacuated now, and we're losing man hours! Father is not going to like this. A government official was assassinated today. What a shame. I want my hands that assassin. I wonder what Lashus can do to him. He's shown quite the penchant for torture. I'm thinking about making him one of my lieutenants in the months and years to come. He's quite the sadist. I love that._

_February 28, 2011 - Xalia begins her introductory flight training today. I can hardly wait to see her progress. She's quite the natural talent. I have a new assistant, a man named Saito El Randel. He's a nice man, though a bit naive. He was originally in charge of shipping hazardous materials...but I liked his work ethic. And he's not that bad looking of a man. One night with me and I can have him wrapped around my finger so tight he'd be like a metal ring. Lashus is also someone I wish to secure for the future. Boy, do I have plans for these two men..._

_March 15, 2011 - Oh dear. Xalia had a terrible accident today! It wasn't her fault. Damn landing gear. She's going to be out for months! Broke both her legs, I say! Fate is indeed cruel. Now if only the prissy Sasha can be taken out by an unfortunate accident...Maybe Graysel too. I hate that man. He's such a hypocrite. He doesn't think I know what he did on my father's orders but...I know all too well. Boy, When Sasha came back from North Point, and was crying her eyes out...if she only knew how much of a sicko her uncle really was..._

_March 23, 2011 - Praeten has brought in more workers to replace the ones we had to eliminate last week. A day after my last entry, insurgents attacked the facility! We drove them off, but a sizable number of prisoners managed to escape! We had to hunt them down and kill every one of them If word of what we're doing were to leak out...it would be a abject disaster! We buried the bodies in yet another mass grave site. Morales got so paranoid he ordered our guards to kill the workers' burying the bodies. Hopefully, this will never happen again. In fact, I will make sure this never happens again. _

And those were the less horrific entries. Portia's more disgusting and almost inhuman acts sent chills down the young woman's spine. Sasha Masson needed no more validation that her entire life had been a sham. Tenenbaum was right. Her entire life of wealth and privilege was from blood money and death. Sasha's own blood ran cold from her heart now. She wanted to kill these people. But she couldn't for obvious reasons...but she could with some help...

"So, this is what you wanted to see, no?" asked Portia.

"It's unbelievable; this place is indescribable." she said, in a very bizarre tone.

Sasha's face was trying its hardest not to twist in anger. She was not talking about the scope of the weapon; she was referring to the terrible means from which this weapon was conceived. Its very design spoke of its true purposes: death.

As Sasha approached the central control room with Portia, Praeten Percival wondered if things could get any worse. General Ignis' Azazael project had fallen on its ass, and with it any hope Versua had of a decisive victory...at least for the time being. With the Allies having created a countermeasure to the weapon, a new strategy was needed. So he left in the hands of Zorba. Both Percival and Zorba were reeling from the lost Makin, one of their most trusted colleagues. But Percival was proud that he died the way he did. He went for revenge, honor, and loyalty. His death galvanized the crew of the Dispater, some of whom had not been outside in weeks. Portia admired their dedication as their land fell apart. Some had lost dear friends and family in the difficult decisions they were forced to make in firing the weapon. But some, like Percival and Zorba had less, if nothing to lose anyway.

They were expecting a visit from Portia, but both were taken aback at the appearance of Sasha.

"What is she doing here?!" Zorba said. Sasha had met Zorba twice...and she was the creepiest woman that Sasha had ever met in her life.

"Oh, I promised her I'd show her this magnificent work of art..." began Portia. But all the neurons in Sasha's brains exploded again.

_Work of art?! You think this is a work of art?! Are you high or something, Portia?_!

"...and I'm always trying to be a better sister because as you know...family is everything." said Portia, her hand touching Sasha's shoulder.

Sasha looked squeamish when Portia put her arm around her shoulder. It was the creepiest moment in Sasha's life. Then she thought, _was it possible to have the two creepiest moments in one's life in a three day span?_ And it was interesting that Portia mentioned family...because when she gave father's eulogy...Sasha could _easily_ pick out the contrived emotion in her voice.

"So...what does this weapon _do_ exactly?" asked Sasha. Percival was all too happy to answer.

"For short, it concentrates electrons in the air into a single point. The signal sent to it amplifies the electromagnetic power around the atoms in the air...and if done long enough...it creates a blast of energy to the ground or in the air. Call it artificial lighting, if you will." he said.

"Then that means that it defies the laws of thermodynamics...right?" said Sasha.

"Stop clamoring for answers, you sniveling little girl! Such topics are much more advanced than your tiny brain can handle. If you truly knew what this weapon could do, it would blow that average mind of yours. This weapon was built by the finest minds in the world." said Zorba.

Sasha looked at her as if she needed to be locked up, which was a plausible outcome should the war end. This woman was insane. Not only was she a nutcase, she was extremely rude. The amazing thing was that Portia didn't tell her off. Sasha needed no more proof that Portia's newfound affection for Sasha was merely window dressing.

"Now, now, Doctor Zorba...let's not be rude." interrupted Percival.

"Alright, then show me what it can do…if you wish." said Sasha defiantly.

"I'd thought you'd never ask. Okay General, give my baby sister a demonstration of this symbol of our might." said Portia.

"Certainly." said Percival. Percival turned to one of the officers manning the stations and said something- Sasha couldn't hear what he said- and he typed something into the control panel.

"What are we attacking sir?" said one of the officers. Percival paused a moment before turning to Portia.

"Before now, we were only able to strike at a few particular places at once. But now with Zorba's improvements...we can strike whole areas!" said Percival, stretching out his hands in some dominant show. Sasha thought he looked ridiculous...as if he were the villain in some very old silent movie.

"We can cut a swath across the Central Plains! I say we destroy Karbala all the way to Disra!" said Zorba with that creepy smile of hers, "and...we can subsequently force the Allies to attack and we will swat them down!"

Sasha looked at the satellite map and saw the stretch of areas they were intending to hit. There were civilian towns mixed in with a ton of Allied units. Sasha quivered and turned to her smiling sister who was smiling ear to ear. Sasha realized that she'd seriously regretted her words.

"What about their countermeasures?" said Portia.

"Oh...I don't think we have to worry about that anymore..." Percival said with a smile on his face.

_**Karbala Versua**_

_**January 4, 2017**_

_**0700 hrs**_

The Allies had placed all kinds of jammers along the line. The X-10 Leviticus had lived up to its name, deflecting many attacks from the Dispater. This was a rare dead period in the war; and for Blaze and Edge, it sort of reminded them of the dead period before they undertook that ill-fated adventure in November City. There was some uneasiness on the line. The staff of Wardog's detachment had done a good job of using the camouflage/infrared netting all around the base. For the first time in the war, everyone could sleep easy. Well, mostly...

Speaking of netting, there was a real problem with insects and other critters crawling around. To combat that, everyone slept under their own anti-insect netting in the desert. Wild dogs were another problem. Lillian had experienced that issue up close and personal back during the postmortem of the fall of the Anapola Fortress.

But that didn't stop Kei Nagase from feeling the effects the desert and all the stress was having on her. They'd been on alert for two days now and the harsh conditions, battle stress and long lights and days were taking their toll on the pilots. Edge had faced the same titans her husband had all those years ago. She found the process and daily grind of war to be extremely taxing; but how didn't? But now she woke up feeling terrible. Her head was aching, and her nose was just compacted with mucous. She bumped her husband in the arm while she struggled with her body, which was sapped of strength from her sickness.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" she said to David...before unleashing a wad of phlegm onto the ground. Her voice was noticeably lower, a typical symptom of her nose being packed to the brim with all kinds of nasty liquid.

"Ugh...don't tell me you've got a cold now. Now you're going to get me sick." David said feeling her forehead with his hand.

"You said you wanted my germs once." said Kei in a childish voice, "besides, didn't the vow say 'in sickness and in health'? Didn't it?"

Kei paused...turned her head to the opposing side and let out a huge sneeze. It was so loud, it shook the heavy sleeping Sueltana from her subconscious. She came up from out of her mosquito net.

"Yeah, but what you have a mission I mean...that could really screw with your flying, couldn't it?" David asked.

Kei let out another huge sneeze and started gagging up more mucous onto the sand inside their tent. David recoiled somewhat, but was amazed when Kei turned back to him with a giant trickle of snot hanging out of her nose. She didn't see it, but Sueltana and David certainly did. David let out a huge laugh.

"Eww...that's disgusting! Sueltana shouted.

David always appreciated the less-than-graceful moments from his wife. It brought some much needed humor into their lives.

"Honey, they have handkerchiefs for a reason." David said directly to Kei.

Kei wasn't that appreciative of that comment, but she took it in good fun...when she caught him by surprise as he got up. She caught him by surprise...by wiping her nose on his flight jacket. David said nothing in response after the fact...only had a look of shock on his face.

"Thanks." she said; her nose still all stopped up.

Sueltana's face twisted in revulsion. "Yuck! That was mean!"

"That was just nasty. Ugh." David said, looking in both revulsion and humor at the bottom right corner of his flight jacket, covered with his wife's snot.

David once imbibed Kei's tears once, but this was the level of absurd and humorous. As much as he hated getting sand out of his flight jacket, he laughed it off as he took a napkin and wiped it off. He picked Kei off the ground and gave her a kiss on the lips...which caused all the neurons in Sueltana's brain to explode. Last time she checked...she'd had snot hanging out of her nose.

"Eww." she said. Sueltana shook her head and got up, walked out of the tent and ran right into Mr. Preston. He was rather shocked at her sudden presence.

"Oh, hello." he said in surprise.

Sueltana thought Mr. Preston was a bit of a withdrawn individual like Mr. Alou. He never talked about his family much, which in Preston's case was what Jonathan called an "aberration", whatever that meant. Apparently, he used to talk about his family all the time.

As Jonathan and Ava emerged from the tent, this ten year old Yuke girl decided to play District Attorney and get the bottom of this case.

"Why did he kiss her when she was all sick and yucky?" said Sueltana looking revolted.

Hans Grimm looked at her as if she were crazy. Why would she ask him, of all people to ask? However, Grimm had accepted the fact that he was going to have to get used to a nearly eleven year old girl in their midst. Grimm admittedly didn't spend a lot of time around kids; although Lauren possessed an unmatched, boisterous energy in the "pre-having-ones-legs-cauterized-by-Versuan-superweapon" phase of their relationship.

"Oh, well, they're in love...that's what people in love do." said Grimm.

"What do you mean?" Sueltana asked in the typical kid-like response. Grimm looked right at her with a smile.

"Well...there are many different kinds of love. Love between grown-ups and kids, girlfriend and boyfriend, brother and sister, husband and wife...but you never love one group the same way as another." said Grimm. "And if you ever get older and you love someone...you have to accept them."

Suddenly, both David and Kei surprised the girl, surrounding her on both sides on their knees. It felt like some kind of a cartoonish, vaudevillian act.

"When you love somebody..." said David, grabbing the girl's shoulder.

"...you've got to love every bit of them." said Kei, adding on.

"You've got to love the inside and the outside." continued Grimm after an awkward pause.

"And you may have to do some strange things to show them that you love them." said Kei.

"...and if that means you've got to share some germs then...that's what you have to do. That's the beauty of it." said David.

David found that this kid didn't need in depth explanation to understand what was going on. She just seemed to get it. Of course, the amount of horrors she'd lived through had allowed her to gain an intelligence and wisdom a few years beyond her age.

"...Oh. Okay." Sueltana said. She looked up and began to sniff the air, "...what...what's the smell?"

It seemed like a bizarre thing for the girl to smell the air. In this case it was not; and nothing had died nearby...not unlike that wild dog that Lillian beat to death the other day. It was some unique ozone-like smell. It smelled like they were standing near a power transformer. All four of the individuals in the middle of the camp quickly realized what was going on...and their eyes bulged in realization. But in that moment, none of the four needed to say anything as Andrew Fisch spoke for them all.

"Oh, shit! Incoming! Hit the deck!" Fisch screamed.

The blood in the hearts of everyone in the camp ran cold. The "incoming" signal meant that the Dispater was firing its weapon. In this case, they had tiny little Karbala zeroed. But what was the cause of the panic? The town had the X-10 Leviticus there...it should have protected them from the Dispater attacks. In fact, it had stopped several attacks once the kinks had been worked out. As a result, the Versuans had yet to fire the weapon again.

David and Sueltana, Kei and Grimm hunkered down preparing for the blast. But as Kei looked up...she saw the unthinkable. She saw a massive collection of purplish beams of death bearing down on them and she, confident as ever, did not look away. But when they hit, they concentrated at one point...as if they were to be bounced off by Leviticus yet again. Only it did not happen this time...

The blasts burst through and lighting went everywhere. Rocks, debris and flames shot everywhere. It was clear now that the Versuans had found a way around their countermeasure. David though acted decisively, like he almost always did, and grabbed the girl.

"Go! Find some cover! Go!" shouted David.

"Take cover!" said another allied pilot running away from them.

"Down! Everybody down!" shouted Andrew scrambling, looking for a safe place to hide.

"They got us zeroed! Spread it out!" said another allied personnel member.

David took the girl and ran for his life and behind them came Grimm and Nagase who were merely trying to keep up with the demon possessed David who tried to run to a ditch he saw. It was rather pathetic for a defense...but it was the only one they had for the moment. Whatever the enemy did to the Dispater...the jammer wasn't stopping it.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" said David.

David slid in into the sand as he was almost completely knocked back by a burst of electricity that exploded some fifty feet in front of them. The ground shook with a ferocity like no other. It seemed like an exercise in futility, but David looked over at the crying, prone Sueltana and used his own body to shield her...knowing full well a hit would kill them both anyway. But in truth...there was nowhere left to run. Nagase and Grimm had made it to the cut ditch, but were unable to find a drain to hide in. The only thing they could do was lay low. All around them, there were the piercing sounds of destruction and the screams of the dying and the dead. The only thing David could do was to try and keep this kid alive.

"We're going to die! We're going to die! We're going to die!" the girl shouted.

"Don't say that! We are not going to die! Do you hear me!? We are _not_ going to die here!" shouted David.

Just as he said that, a shocking burst zoomed dangerously close to him...and the heat generated was so strong that it caused David's clothes to burn. He threw off his flight jacket and rolled around in the sand to extinguish his burning clothes. For a mere moment, Blaze was literally ablaze. Kei and Grimm both grabbed him and pulled him into the ditch into which they'd dived. The girl quickly ran over and hid in the ditch with them. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of feeling the shuttering earth and praying that none of those rays of death hit them, they stopped. The silence was powerful the seconds after the destruction ended. Finally, voices could be heard.

"Is it...is it over?!" Sueltana said.

David looked around, then he looked at the frightened girl, looked at Kei Nagase and at Hans Grimm before he looked around again.

"What the hell was that!?" shouted one of the Allied ground crews.

The quartet began to survey the damage done to the camp, the makeshift hangars and the town itself. It wasn't a pretty sight. There were flames all over the place, fire crews were running rampant trying to put out the blazes. There were wounded and dead all over the place. Grimm couldn't look...he was looking at a horrible memory of Lauren Weiss' horrible wounds. Cormorance was alive, helping several of the ground crews lift a piece of debris off a trapped MP. To David and Kei's simultaneous surprise and disappointment, Lucien Jackson had survived and was making some sort of a huge fuss about something. Andrew Fisch and Lillian Izzo were both wandering around looking despondent. The look on their faces said it all.

_How could this have happened?_

"It just broke through the barrier! What the hell!? Oh man...game over man...game over!" shouted Andrew.

"Would you shut up?" Lillian shouted at him, having had her fill of Andrew's antics.

David looked around, simply wandering from place to place. It was a clear indicator that their enemies were not yet going to give in. And to think his daughter had been killed by this same weapon all those months ago. He'd come over here, defied his own ethics, broke so many promises he'd made...all for retribution; all to see that massive weapon destroyed. The war may not end when the Dispater was gone, but Blaze determined that his own war would end with the destruction of that weapon. He picked up a large amount of sand in his hand and let it blow into the morning wind. Suddenly, Kei Nagase appeared near him as melancholy as ever. She knelt down beside him and David turned towards her.

"Now I know there is an end to this." said David.

"Let's just hope it's not the end for us." said Kei, referring to their deadly task.

And yet, in the chaos that ensued, a certain woman named Xalia Masson had escaped somehow. She wasn't sure how she survived, but she was somehow free. She simply ran away from the guards as the bolts from the Dispater came in. She had no idea why she ran at first. But the lightning bolts seemed to serve as a reminder. And after the fact, she felt she'd been forgotten by everyone who cared about her. Perhaps that was what her entire life had been like. Perhaps her life had been a series of anomalies. Perhaps Baraka Molina, a man she loved once, had forgotten about him; his rage at the Deceivers and his battle-tested mind too much to allow to allow love to enter. Perhaps Sasha and Kaida had done the same. Perhaps now that she knew her father was gone...maybe he'd forgotten her too. Xalia felt like she was dead to the world. Maybe that was how she would stay.

Once she'd gotten away from everyone, she knelt down and pushed her arms, which had been manacled from behind with handcuffs, down. She shoved her leg through the open part of the handcuffs and did the same with the other leg. Once her handcuffed hands were in front of her, she simply looked around trying to get her bearings.

For some reason, Sasha came into her head. She wanted to see Sasha again. Her eyes closed for a long time as if they were inside a dream. She saw her with that smiling face and she couldn't wait to go to sleep to see them. She missed that diminutive sister of hers. From Sasha came a felicity and an innocence that was much needed in times of all the things that were on Xalia's mind; and most of it was death. Perhaps Xalia had gone insane now. But that didn't matter. She had found her purpose. She was going to see Sasha again even if she had to cross miles of endless plains and desert. But Sasha had an entirely different palate of problems to deal with...

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**January 4, 2017**_

_**0727 hrs**_

Sasha did not blink the entire time she witnessed the destruction. The others laughed and cheered and Sasha felt helpless and depressed. She wondered what those men on the ground were feeling. Not to mention the destruction that surrounded Disra. Sasha couldn't look and closed her eyes to the destruction...but Portia kept slapping her in the back of the head to keep them open. But Sasha had enough...

"That's enough! Stop it!" Sasha cried out. Portia backhanded her sister.

"This is war! There can be no middle ground, no compassion, and no mercy! Just as the Allies would not show us!" Portia spat at her sister.

The hit barely stung, as Portia hit like a girl...literally. Sasha initially looked embarrassed, but as the moment wore on, Sasha snarled with rage. However, any reaction would not have been wise. She simply ignored the humiliation and looked at the screen again...as finally, the destruction stopped. After it was over, silence was deafening as everyone stood speechless as to what this Dr. Zorba had been able to do.

"My goodness, Doctor Zorba! I can't believe you did it!" said one of the officers.

"Well, I did build the original module after all..." the mad scientist replied.

"Holy...wha...what..." Sasha could only struggle to say while she was shaking. Portia turned to her sister.

"See, we're not out yet! We've still got a weapon that no one can stop." said Portia.

"Well, actually two." said Percival interrupting.

As he said that, a group of soldiers suddenly entered the room. With them was a single man in some kind of a black flight suit. He walked right over to Portia, who put herself between him and Sasha.

"It's about time you got here! Listen, Sasha...I want you to meet someone. It is my dearest honor...to introduce to you the greatest ace to have ever lived...Valen Yancing." said Portia with an absolute reverence.

Sasha knew nothing about the aces and their so-called legends. Kaida had once called them "overblown" and he was right. But there was a certain aura to this Yancing man...and it wasn't a good one. She'd heard rumors about this man. She'd heard rumors that this man was insane.

He had a round face but his eyes were a piercing blue. He was not quite muscular, but he wasn't skinny either. Yet he seemed stronger than he looked; he had an appearance in his face that gave away certain malevolence. His forehead looked round as well. His head would often shake a little when he stood still. Before he even introduced himself to Sasha, he put his index finger and his thumb on his chin and walked around her as if he were inspecting her. Sasha noticed him looking rather playfully at her rear end which caused her to spin around, not quite in disgust...but in total shock. He took a playful look at the exposed valley of flesh her spaghetti-strapped shirt revealed.

While he seemed a rather attractive man for someone in his mid thirties, he was just unsettling. He extended his hand to shake Sasha's...and his hands were freezing cold. Sasha wondered why she even shook the man's hand in the first place. This man was unbalanced for sure. After all, he spent a tense period of time checking out Sasha's anatomical features with a devious smile. That alone was enough to make this man crazy. That was just not the way a normal man would act...

"It's a pleasure, my lady..." said Yancing shaking her hand. Sasha quickly returned the handshake, backed away and Portia looked at her if she were shocked that Sasha did not expect this reaction from Yancing.

Sasha was utterly suffocated with the emergence of all the psychopathic characters. This man only made her feel worse. She desperately wanted to get out of this room as quickly as possible. This Yancing man looked like a rapist. But as she thought that, another question came into her head...

"This guy...was the one guy we could always count on. The pinnacle of air to air combat abilities resides with this man. In the six years prior to our reign, we used this guy only four times on shooting missions...only when things became royally messed up. This man...is a monster the likes of which the Allies have never seen in person." said Percival.

"You think Tenenbaum was a cold killer? You just wait until those Osean Deceivers meet _this_ guy. I guarantee you...they won't be running all over the boys from Diabalos." said Portia laughing.

"That...begs one interesting question. Why the hell...didn't you use him earlier in the war?" said Sasha with an arched eyebrow.

"Because our father didn't know what the hell he was doing..." said Portia sardonically. "But now, we have taken care of that and we can force the Allies into our own war-ending terms."

Sasha was not filled with rage as she otherwise would have been. She knew her father had been guilty of many sins and the more she hung around Portia and her later father's sycophants...the more credibility Tenenbaum had. The only thing she had to do was get the hell out of this place. It was clear that Sasha did not belong here. If she was in a world where Carlo Tenenbaum was considered to be less of a psychopath than Valen Yancing...Sasha should have had her head examined for being here.

"Okay, that's enough for me. Good luck with all that...I have to meet the L25 convoy. I'm going with them to go pick up Ammon from Ciudad." said Sasha.

"Oh, I heard about that. What a terrible thing to lose his eye like that. But I guess he's lucky getting some cushy desk job up at Intelligence Command. But I guess he's lucky to have a beautiful woman like you. Then again, that man doesn't deserve you. You can have any man you wanted if you simply chose. They'd fall over backwards for you." said Yancing approaching her.

Yancing started touching Sasha along the side of her hair...then her waist and it _really_ made her squirm. _Who the hell does this guy think he is? _Percival looked a bit shocked as did Portia. Sasha backed away and simply walked away down to the entrance to this massive facility. Portia seemed a bit put off by both of their actions, but Sasha didn't care. Percival, Yancing, Zorba and Portia were not military and government leadership. All four of them belonged in an insane asylum. And yet, Sasha wondered if she herself needed to have a psych evaluation after this war was over.

Sasha wanted to see Ammon again...but she also longed for the company of her sister Xalia. She shook her head and kept on walking. She would have given anything to see Xalia again. But nothing was going to prepare her for what happened she was reunited with her husband. It was then her world shattered into a million pieces.

_**Ciudad, Verusa**_

_**January 4, 2017**_

_**1400 hrs**_

For all intents and purposes, Ammon Kaida's flight career was over. He'd been in Cabu for several days, still trying to recover from his lost eye. The problem was that his vision had not corrected yet, and he'd missed several battles as the others flew on. Then, the dreaded news came down from command after the flight accident. He'd tried to fly again yesterday against doctor's orders, but nearly crashed on takeoff.

Things had gone from bad to worse when whatever the hell that massive airship was fell on its ass several days ago. Now their fearless leader, William Masson was dead. The war had turned into a complete disaster. And yet, only the fearless and the fanatical (or the foolish, what have you) fought on.

The front had collapsed and now the Versuans could only defend their main areas: Ciudad, Clavis and the Christos area. Baraka Molina didn't care. There was a battle to be fought, a mission to be completed. While Ammon had basically given up, Baraka Molina was still fighting hard however. He was still fuming over Xalia's loss, but there was little he could do.

Both men were on the ground outside the Ciudad airport, despondent as ever. Neither men cared that Portia was ruling the roost now. Neither men also didn't care that Masson was dead. But their indifference was from different sources. Mephisto squadron's lead knew he had a purpose left in the war. He wanted to fight the Osean aces...if just one more time. He wouldn't be sad to be brought down by them. But day after day, things became less and less hopeful. Those enemy pilots were his last hope now of fulfilling his true purpose. Baraka had other things going through his head though. He had reserve pilots to deal with, missions to look over, tape to review...

Ammon didn't care because his priorities had changed. He had no purpose now. He wasn't allowed to fly anymore, so why would he care? His goal was simple: survival. He hadn't been able to communicate with Sasha for several days. Days ago though, he'd been repentant about sleeping with his childhood friend, Jaklyn Ors. But now, his indifference had seeped into his relationships. He was starting to wonder if he even cared about doing the right thing anymore. Not telling Sasha would only make things easier. Telling her would destroy their relationship, but there was Jaklyn to fall back on. But none of those were guarantees. Ammon wondered if he should just give up and surrender...just so he could survive. Though Jaklyn was no quitter and he'd certainly make an enemy of her.

Kaida was now spending his last day on the front line sitting next to Baraka Molina; two men who were different but equally flawed.

"What do you think's going to happen?" Ammon asked.

"You mean...how is this going to end? Probably with us with tags on our toes. But can you see it any other way?" Baraka said.

"Well, I least can see Sasha again..." said Ammon.

"So you can cheat on her again...why would you?" said Baraka.

Ammon looked at Baraka as if he'd seen a ghost.

"What?! How the hell...?" he said.

"I heard Mendenhall talking about it. He blurted it out to me when he was downing his drinks last night. Plus, I've always thought you and Jaklyn had something going." said Baraka.

"And you're judging me? I've always wondered if you even cared about Xalia." said Ammon. It seemed like a weak comeback, but it was all Ammon had.

"Of course, I do!" replied Baraka

"You don't seem to act like it. What is she now, another afterthought in that brain of yours? Is this just another fleeting memory until the next battle? Maybe Alex was right...maybe you weren't a permanent couple. Maybe you were like me, unable to commit to love because of so many things in our lives."

"What?! He said that!? That bastard! I keep that pain in my heart. However, I only wished I'd done things differently." said Baraka.

"After the fact! Has the obsession with those aces filled your heart? Slowing eating you alive as if by vultures? Or has the rage consumed you with so much indifference and hate of those Osean pilots...so much that you've pushed Xalia's memory away?" said Kaida.

But as Kaida said that, Baraka Molina had an epiphany. Maybe he'd always been a soldier before a lover.

"Maybe it has. But what difference does it make now? We're warriors. We have to put that stuff behind us. There is no option for men like us but to fight...and maybe die. It's not such a bad life though. I mean, we are among the most respected pilots left. We are the angels of the White Crow's loyal followers." said Baraka.

Ammon looked at Baraka as if he was insane. His face twisted as if he'd tasted a bad lemon. He shook his head and formed a sneering look towards his colleague.

"Sorry...but those days are over. I hate to break it to you...but most of us stopped believing those lies weeks ago. My home was destroyed by that damned Tower. My _home_! And yet you claim we're angels!? We're not angels! We're corrupt people on the losing side. You're a deluded man with a death wish who pushes away people he cares about for success and I'm an unfaithful spouse who can't shed his promiscuity...and we're killers! We're killers caught up in this murderous frenzy call we call air to air combat. We're in the pit of Hell now. Angels? Last time I checked...there are no angels in Hell." said Kaida getting off the ground.

Kaida began to walk away before he turned to Baraka's prone form, maintaining his sneering look.

"I really hope you survive...but chances are you're just going to be another casualty in your deluded cause. I'm out of here. I've got assignment up at Command." said Kaida, finally walking away.

Baraka stopped him with his words.

"If you pick a side...make sure it's the right side." he said.

"Believe me Baraka, I know where my loyalties lie." said Kaida. But he was lying. He didn't know where his loyalties lied anymore. But did anyone know anymore? Kaida simply shook his head and walked away.

He walked along the edge of the hangars to the entrance to await his ride. Sasha said she'd be coming with them. It seemed as if he could get away with all of his transgressions scot free. But as he did, he ran into the last person he wanted to see: Jaklyn Ors.

"There you are. I heard the news. You're getting some post up at Command aren't you?" said Jaklyn. Kaida had to struggle keep his head and his eyes from moving down to sneak a peek at her perfectly shaped breasts.

"I'm afraid so. Just a boring, cushy desk job." said Kaida. He desperately wanted to get the hell away from this woman before his ride showed up. If Sasha saw this...

"Well, you're lucky. The rest of us get to fight a losing battle." said Ors, melancholy as ever. Kaida began to walk away.

"Just don't die on me alright. We need some people after the war is over." he said. He began to walk away, but Jaklyn ran in front of him and stopped him with her hand. Her voice sounded desperate.

"Look, I can't make any guarantees. However, I think we'll both survive this. And if we do, then...well, the future is whatever you decide. But, I have an argument to make; just in case we never see each other again...a little going away present." said Jaklyn approaching him.

Jaklyn's lips brushed his own and in that moment, things were wonderful. It was good to taste her cherry flavored kiss once again. After a tense minute, Kaida tried to back away, feeling that something wasn't right after the fact. And something wasn't right. And because of the way they were facing each other, Jaklyn was the first to notice it...and when she pulled away in shock...

A cold feeling came over Kaida as he turned and saw an equally shocked Sasha Masson standing there.

"Oh, crap..." said both Jaklyn and Kaida in unison.

As Sasha and Ammon stared at each other, what occurred next for one of the most spectacular outbursts of rage in all of human history...

_**Somewhere near Casta van Alde **_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**January 6, 2017**_

_**1500 hrs**_

Sasha's world had imploded right in front of her. The city she grew up in was devastated, and the Allies simply left the city as it was. Her mother's home was destroyed. So many Versuan soldiers had lost their lives in this war. Xalia was either missing, dead or captured by the Allies. And even worse, she was faced with the reality that the Looking Glass had been right all along. Her father's empire had been a sham. Her father and her sister, along with so many of the people inside the command...had done nothing less than deplorable things to many people, innocent or guilty. She'd seen one illusion after another be shattered.

On that dreaded morning two days ago...she'd seen the results of a weapon so devastating, cruel and evil that it defied words. She had come to inform her husband of the truth to that weapon; she hoped her husband would be reasonable about the terrors and unacceptable injustices she'd learned of.

Now the final illusion was gone: the illusion of her marriage to Ammon Kaida. She believed he was over his old ways; apparently, she was wrong. After reading the sordid, horrifying details of her sister's diary, she witnessed her husband being kissed by another woman. It was then she learned that everything in her life had been a sham. Her late father, Portia, even Ammon...they were all no longer worthy of trust. For the first time in her life, Sasha Masson's heart was filled with pure, unambiguous hatred.

Once he'd admitted the truth, she exploded with all kinds of curses and shoving. She almost choked him, she was so furious. She nearly picked up a tire iron that was lying near one of the hangers and wished she could have beaten Ammon to death. It took nearly six people, all of whom were bigger and stronger than Sasha, to hold her back from killing this man.

She wanted to _kill_ Ammon Kaida. For the first time in her life, the idea of murder had entered her mind. It wasn't some fleeting feeling...she literally wanted to murder her husband but good.

After her explosive display, she was so tired and winded she made herself nauseous and vomited just outside her limo. She cried the entire way back, and when she arrived back at the castle, she was so weak and emotionally drained she had to be helped out of the car and taken to the hospital wing. She literally cried herself to sleep.

Ammon rode in a different vehicle all the way back to High Command. Ammon never said anything in defense during Sasha's display. He'd never seen that kind of rage in the tiny form of that woman. Ammon was so shocked that he knew any there was absolutely no chance of forgiveness now. Most would say that such an emotional outburst was to be taken with a grain of salt once she'd calmed down. But Ammon knew Sasha too well to assume that.

For all intents and purposes, their relationship was at an end.

He sat in a small office in one of the buildings on this base. It was mostly empty now, as most of the guards were on their breaks. It was just merely an isolated way station. It was probably someone up at Command's idea of a cruel joke. Simply stick Ammon Kaida, a double digit ace who couldn't fly anymore in some boring, old office so he wouldn't get in the way. Kaida would have bet his share of his family's fortune that Portia had something to do with it.

He'd only been here a few days, and he'd already hated this job. He imagined that the others were having the time of their lives up in the sky. Though that wasn't the case at all...but Kaida didn't care about that reality. He still just sat there listlessly, wondering what else could go wrong in his life. He'd certainly made a mess of things. Now he wondered if he was better off dead. Now that everything had been lain bare...he realized the ideal plan of survival came with an extremely high cost. And that was the tragedy of it all. Despite what Ammon admitted, he still cared about Sasha. He still loved her...and that was what hurt most of all.

Suddenly, the door opened. The sound of measured footsteps and heels could be heard. He didn't even need to look up...though Ammon probably wouldn't have looked up anyway. He closed his eyes for three seconds in shame. Then he looked up. Had this been a week ago, Ammon would have smiled. Sasha Masson had come to his new dark, messy office. She looked beautiful. Sasha's hair was neatly combed, she had on thin, black shirt with spaghetti straps, a white, pleated dress and black heels, her eyes were covered in black mascara, and her nails were well done.

But it was clear that she'd come here not to look pretty...it was to finish off the loose ends of the vicious brouhaha between the two that occurred days ago. She stood right in front of him, while Ammon had been slumped down in his chair. Sasha was clearly was in a figurative position of power.

"Aren't you going to say how nice I look? Oh that's right...it's been awhile since I looked this nice. I looked nicer a few weeks ago…maybe you wouldn't have gone off and spent the night with some friend from the past." Sasha said in a subdued, but obviously hostile tone. Her eyes were like slits from a viper now, boring into Ammon's head. She became impatient when he didn't respond.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Come on...speak up. I want to hear your side. I really do. I want to hear your side of the story. Come on, I dare you...I could use a good laugh." she said, still maintaining her passive hostility.

Kaida could think of no words to rationalize his actions. Why would he? He'd never tried to dodge accountability. He'd considered it many times...but in the end he never did. So he decided to tell her what he really felt.

"Look, I didn't want it this way. So, I'll tell you the truth and you can do with it what you will. I tried so long to be something I thought I could be. I learned some hard truths about myself. I wasn't as strong as I thought I was. All those days of flying alone made me feel _powerful_; powerful enough that I could tear the skies apart. I could go without relying on other people. I hated dealing with others on missions as you know. I thought they just got in the way of what I was trying to do. All that time of being alone up there...it caught up with me when it mattered most. When things were down, when times were tough, I'd sit alone at night, wishing I had someone there to tell my darkest fears to. But you couldn't be that person because, you wouldn't understand what goes through my head the way another soldier could. It wasn't anything personal against you." said Ammon.

Ammon shifted his sitting form a bit.

"There are things that happen in my head during my life or death struggles up there...you can't even begin to imagine. But, because I trusted no one else there was no one that could understand my feelings. That sense of isolation was my downfall. I couldn't trust anyone, not even Xalia. Not even she could understand my chaotic mind. Then Jaklyn comes along...and she gets me. She understands what went through my head. She understood the horror, the death...the destruction...the nightmares. It wasn't easy to deal with alone. When I had her in Valuria...it felt like you were there with me. She was just like you...only she could understand what you couldn't. Things only a soldier could. But, I lost control. Things went too far. My strength became my weakness. But I didn't care about her...liked the way I cared about you." said Kaida.

He looked away, and then he looked directly at Sasha.

"I'm not saying this to make myself look better. I'm not saying this as an excuse...I'm just telling you what happened. I cared about you so much, but I realized that I couldn't undo my mistakes. Something happened...and I became my old self again. I buried feelings in the past, but you were different. I cared about you so much...I loved you so much that I couldn't bury it like I could in the past. I was killing myself over it. That's when I realized how much I did love you...when it killed me to tell you the truth...but it had to be done. I just wanted to do it on my own terms...not being discovered like I was." said Ammon.

Sasha had to fight the urge to backhand him. But he did provide the explanation as he was told. She couldn't kill him for that...could she? She had the advantage anyway...it seemed too flimsy and bebop-ish to be a true explanation. But his tone gave away the contriteness in his words. So she couldn't quite hammer him with her own nasty words.

"Do you even know the meaning of that word? Love is sitting up night after night...worrying if you're going to be dead the next day! That's love!" Sasha replied.

"Is it? Maybe...maybe not. But I've been trying real hard to find out for so long...and I still haven't figured it out. I thought I had it all figured out when I met you...but I guess I was wrong." replied Kaida.

"Your damn right you were wrong. I loved you for free...and I never even thought of another man and you just...I don't even want to talk to you anymore." she said, throwing up her hands.

Sasha shook her head in disgust...and began to walk away. As she did that, her mind suddenly became a highway of thought. True, he had cheated on her a few times with some bitch named Jaklyn...but he never denied it. He never lied about it. That was much more than what most men would do. She wanted to end it all...but she couldn't pour salt on this wound that was Ammon Kaida. His voice was contrite, shameful and sad. This office where he'd been confined to seemed like the perfect setting for his true feelings: depressing and devoid of any order. As she turned back and looked at him...he never looked up. It seemed like he'd accepted this reality. She stood there for a long minute just looking around the messy office...neither said anything to the other. Finally, Sasha walked back over to the desk and around it...and spoke directly to him.

Ammon stood up on instinct, almost shedding the power Sasha had over him before.

"Listen. When I said all those horrible things to you, I spent all this time regretting it. But when I came here...I put myself in a mindset where you'd be unrepentant. So I acted as such...and I guess I was wrong about you in more ways than one." said Sasha.

Ammon arched an eyebrow.

"When you told me about you and Jaklyn, I said hated you. However, I've done some thinking and now I realize that...it was the easy way out. It was way too easy to try and hit you with a tire iron...or spent that car ride back home wishing I could jam an ice pick into your eye. It was too easy to hate you because of one act. And I _can't_ hate you because of one act. So, I absolve myself from that hatred. I'm angry...I'm hurt...but, I don't hate you. I don't." said Sasha. She came closer to him.

After what felt like an eternity, Sasha finally said, "...and I forgive you."

Ammon looked at her as if she were nuts. _Did she say what I think she said?_

"I forgive you because...despite what you did, I know what you really are like underneath and I understood why Jaklyn was attracted to you...why Xalia was attracted to you...why all the other women before Xalia and me were attracted to you. I remembered why I loved you." Sasha continued.

Ammon said nothing in response. Sasha walked closer to him.

"I know that you were kindest man I've ever met. I know the compassion that lies in your heart. You've never lied to me. You've never tried to hurt me, physically anyway. You never shouted at me. And you never failed to admit when you were wrong...even when you went astray. And I thank you for that. I could have been with a total jerk but...not you. I got you. You always made me smile. You were like a friend to me...and I still...and I know this crazy, but I don't want this to end. I am willing to start over from the beginning...but you really need some professional help. Actually both of us do..." said Sasha, looking away nervously.

Ammon was incredulous as she grasped his hands. Ammon pulled away though...and looked at her with a pair of sad, misty eyes.

"No. Thank you...but I can't. I don't deserve you. That's what I've spent these days contemplating. I wanted you to be spared your pain. And you were right, I wasn't worthy of trust. I had you and I blew it. You loved me for free...but I threw it away. A woman like you only comes along once in a lifetime. I thought the grass was greener on the other side because of a trivial detail of my life that you can't even understand. No, you deserve better than me if I can't trust you with my own feelings. You deserve someone that isn't afraid of telling you the deepest, darkest things in their minds. You deserve a strong man...and not a weak, isolated man like me." said Ammon.

Sasha almost became teary-eyed now.

"...then Portia was right. True love doesn't exist." she said.

"_What?!_" Ammon said up in arms, "You're going to let _Portia Masson_...you're going to let that icy bitch dictate what _you_ believe?! Are you _kidding_ me?! Trust me, I may not know what it really is...but I know what I believe. And you should know what you believe...and if you believe true love exists...then go find it! I don't deserve you...but you're free now to find whatever you want." Ammon said.

The words hit Sasha like a sledgehammer. By God, he was right! Why was she letting someone who didn't even like her...tell her what to believe and what not to believe?

"Now, it's up to you. I gave you the chance. My mother, who was partially responsible for my promiscuous ways, told me once, _give a fool a chance, he screws it up. Give a smart person a chance...they change everything_. And I know you'll change everything. So go...take it. Go find that chance." Ammon concluded, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What about our child? What if this war ends..." said Sasha, eyes darting around the room.

Ammon hadn't quite forgotten that elephant in the room. He'd merely stuck it in the back of his mind.

"Don't worry. I'm not leaving the kid out of this. I just wanted you to know the truth and why we can't be together anymore." said Ammon.

"You're right about that. Even though anything between you and me is done...I wanted to ask you something." said Sasha.

"What?" Ammon asked.

Sasha laughed for a bit. Then she looked like a sad puppy when she asked him her question.

"Can I...can I still be your friend? Like you called me all those months ago? Can I be your friend again? I still want to keep your company...even if this war ends." she asked.

Ammon looked incredulous...and yet he felt happy. The fact that this woman still wanted him to be a part of her life in a different way...was nothing but refreshing. Ammon realized why Sasha was so special. She was the only woman on the planet who would be..._reasonable_ in a situation like this.

"Of course. I thought you'd...never want to associate with me again." said Ammon.

"When this war ends...a lot of people are going to be alone. I won't be...technically." Sasha said, pointing to her stomach, "But...I don't want you to be alone anymore. That was what I wished for all those nights. You and I can never be what we once were...but you were always a great friend."

"Thank you. That's more than I was expecting from you." said Ammon.

Sasha and Ammon got closer, but now it was an awkward close. Finally, they just simply shook hands. They held them for a while...and finally released them. In the manner of a day, what could have been the ugliest "divorce" in human history...went down as one of most amicable and peaceful. It wasn't official...

Both had made their peace with the other...and there was no more resentment. The pain would take some time to heal...but they were still friends now. The fact that if somewhere along the line, Sasha would give him another chance...or more importantly, Kaida accept the chance...was irrelevant. Perhaps things were better this way as of the moment. And just as well for Sasha, because now she had less to lose. But the important thing was still up in the air.

"I hope you find what you're looking for. I hope you find your true love and what it means." said Sasha putting her hand on Ammon's shoulder again. Ammon calmly removed her hand from his shoulder.

"I hope you do as well. My only regret now is that I can't go back to the war and challenge death again and repay it in kind." said Ammon.

"Funny you should say that. But you should have no regrets...because we can end this war and find what we believe." said Sasha.

Now with the hatchet buried, the most important thing of all had to be addressed: how to save Versua from complete destruction.

"What in the world do you mean?" asked Ammon. Sasha began to pace closer to him, holding her hand up at the same height as her neck for reason; it was almost as if she was pointing at him.

"I'm going to offer you a choice. You can take it or leave it. I won't blame you if you don't take this chance...but be forewarned. If you do not take this choice...then you and I will never see each other again...even as friends. You and I will never see each other alive again. I want to end this war once and for all and I have a chance to do it...do you want to help me end this ridiculous war and keep what we have left?" said Sasha.

"If only I could end it..." said Ammon shaking his head downward.

"You won't be alone. I have some help waiting on me. But, I can't tell you unless you accept. Please Ammon, how are you going to find out what you want if you're not alive to have that chance? My child needs a father too. And if we don't act…no one is going to have anything left." said Sasha, with plenty of urgency in her voice.

Ammon sat back down in his chair.

"I've got nothing left now...but this office. My home is destroyed. You and I...no. My entire world has caved in and there is almost no place left for me to go." he said...his head to the floor. Sasha became angry and lifted his head.

"Don't say that! Don't! Don't let your remorse get in the way of the real you! I know you for what you are, and the old you would have never let this get in the way! You're stronger than you think...don't let one bad thing be the difference between life and death. There will always be a place for people like us." said Sasha.

"You know what? I've only been here less than a day and hate this place! I hate this war. I hate this damn office and I hate what's been going on! I hate having to watch my city destroyed, I hate having to sit back and watch as our leaders tear up everything we've got left!" said Ammon.

"So you're in?! Thank you! That's the spirit! That's the old you!" said Sasha, shaking him.

"So, what's the plan? What are you going to do?" said Ammon getting up out of his chair, his temperament having cooled.

"I've got a story to tell you. A story about how everything you and everyone else fought for is a sham." said Sasha.

So Sasha told him everything. She told him about the slaves, the mass graves, the Dispater, her father's ambitions, Portia's agendas, and the truth about the Orchid Division. When Ammon heard these things, he was scared stiff. It was the first time he was truly afraid and could barely bring himself to speak.

"My goodness...that's horrible...what..." said Ammon, confused.

Ammon looked away. Everyone who had died...they died not for people who unified the nation for peace. They died for people who unified it by murder and slavery. Ammon couldn't bear to hear another word of Sasha's story.

"Dear God...what have I done? What have _we_ done? We've allowed ourselves to be deceived by people that would do those kinds of horrible things to our own people!? I mean, Valuria was bad...but this has been going on for years!?" Ammon said, tight-lipped.

"I'm afraid so. And Portia and my father orchestrated it all. She killed my father, she killed my uncle...my father had my mother killed. Orchid mistreated and murdered hundreds of thousands of people to build that Dispater, much less ensure my father's ascent to the leadership of this land..." replied Sasha, trying to hold back her anger.

"That's evil...that's unforgivable. And here I was beating myself up over what _I_ did to you." Ammon said, quickly pacing about the room.

"Ammon, the Allies are going to attack that Dispater in a huge operation in three days...and they are going to get slaughtered. I've seen what that weapon is capable of up close and personal...I finally had a chance to go inside..." Sasha said.

"You got inside?! How?!" Ammon asked.

"Never mind that now. But as long as that weapon exists, this war will never end. My sister's crimes will go unpunished. We have to act _now_." said Sasha, her tone becoming deadly serious.

"But what the hell are we going to do?" Ammon said, confused.

Sasha smiled a bit.

"We are going to steal the architectural plans to that Tower. As I understand it...there is a systematic method of destroying it. Inside Portia's diary, there are designs...but the plans inside them were merely crude drawings. The actual plans are hidden inside my father's archives in his room...and I know the code to that room." said Sasha.

Ammon looked at Sasha as if she were crazy. Had this woman lost her mind?

"But isn't that locked up to anyone but Command? I mean you can get the code, but you have to be accompanied by a command official to get inside." he said.

Sasha gave her former husband a gigantic smile. She put his hand on his shoulder.

"Well, my friend...that's where _you_ come in." she said.

Next Chapter: Chapter 24: Grand Theft


	24. Grand Theft

Note: My apologies for the length of this chapter. It ended up way longer than I thought it would be. Also, please re-read the previous chapter. I've made a number of much needed corrections to it.

Chapter 24: Grand Theft

_"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke_

_**Somewhere in Clavis, Versua**_

_**January 7, 2017**_

_**2300 hrs**_

A certain Osean pilot considered Versua to be a vast and lonely place where they were not wanted. For Kaida and Sasha...it was a vast and lonely place but it was as if the stars had parted for them to go through.

The former spouses couldn't believe how easy it was. They also couldn't believe how many people were on their side. Sasha had somehow recruited several rather dissatisfied, disgruntled officers to help her out. They were mainly younger officers who were a bit tired of fighting this losing war. They were also tired of being asked to sacrifice themselves for a lost cause. But most of all, they were tired of following Portia's idiotic 'scorched earth policy'.

So it was easy to simply walk in and take the records. Sasha's late father had kept detailed records of all the projects, campaigns and other things that had occurred in this White Crow regime. All of the critical information was all stored on thousands of high-speed UMD discs. Each were labeled for easy access. The security was a major issue on paper: biometric scans, guards, etc. But, thanks to Kaida's access and his superiors who were sympathetic to the cause, he was able to retrieve the records, make a copy of them, and leave as if nothing had happened.

Once Sasha had her hands on the copy, she simply shoved them down into her top; an act that made Kaida laugh to no end. Soon, there were out of there and were on their way to meet members of the Southern Alliance who were waiting to receive the information in the town of Carbonne. Sasha was still a bit freaked out by the Looking Glass, however. Even though they were unofficially no longer a couple, Sasha and Kaida worked together as friends for a common goal: the quick and complete end of this terrible war.

The only issue was that at some point, Portia was going to find out. After all, she frequently went into the archives for whatever the hell she wanted out of there. But at the time they made the raid, Portia was at the Dispater facility. Apparently there was something wrong with that weapon. It was rather serendipitous. The journey to the town of Carbonne was more of a pleasure cruise than a desperate drive...at least in Sasha's mind. She and Kaida had disguised themselves somewhat. Sasha had a rather fancy scarf on, she'd exchanged her light clothes for black ones and wore rather thick sunglasses, though she had abandoned them because it was nighttime. Kaida had ditched his uniform and was wearing plain clothes for the first time in months. Sasha had ditched her high heels for more comfortable shoes; but she didn't even wear them as she simply propped one foot on the dashboard and slumped back in relaxation the car they'd stolen. In her lap was a map which she looked at with a small flashlight.

"How far are we until the city?" said Kaida.

"About one hour." said Sasha, looking at the map under the flashlight.

"I can't believe how you got the others to cooperate. I was sure they'd turn us in." said Kaida turning to her.

"Well, be thankful there are some reasonable ones left among us. Now, the leader of the resistance, that Southern Alliance, and his leadership are setting up a meeting with a certain Osean...black operations...wetwork group in Carbonne. Apparently, this group has been funding the resistance for years." said Sasha, suddenly well informed.

Kaida gave her the 'I know' look then looked away for a moment. It all made sense. The disaster in Basra, the Disra incident, all the flyers...it all made sense now. Then again, ever since Kaida had learned all the terrible things William Masson and his regime had done years ago...the entire existence of the Southern Alliance was justified.

"No wonder they were so well armed." said Kaida, rather simply.

"But we've got to skedaddle once the sun comes up. Portia will put all the towns on martial law whenever she finds out we've taken the records..." Sasha began.

"...and she'll have every hitman and plane in Versua hunting us down. It's going to be fun." the sarcastic Kaida finished.

There was a long period of silence between the two former spouses. Despite the spate the days before, they were generally behaving like a pair of teenagers along this wild and strange period during this terrible war. Kaida wouldn't admit it, but there was some excitement in his heart. But it was buried behind a wall of fear and doubt. Sasha then made a play to brighten the mood.

"Hey, I got a question for you. I want you be honest and I promise I won't get mad no matter how you answer it." she said.

"What?" asked Kaida, eyebrow highly arched.

"...God, this is so bush league of me...but who was the better...lover? Me or that Jaklyn woman?" said Sasha, covering her eyes in almost complete embarrassment.

"Wha...excuse me?!" said Kaida in sheer shock. Sasha started laughing.

"Well, I'm just curious." she responded.

"Oh brother...I can't believe you're asking me this. But, if you want honesty...I couldn't tell the difference." said Kaida.

"Oh, _come on_! You are a flaming pants liar, sir! You are lying to me! You can't ride the fence on this one!" Sasha shouted at him.

"No, I'm serious! You were both equally great. The only difference was that where you were more energetic, she was more passionate." replied Kaida.

"Oh, okay. I understand. I totally get it." said Sasha smiling.

Kaida said nothing, keeping his reservations to himself. But Sasha was more excited than ever. She punched him in the arm.

"Oh, lighten up! Let's have some fun with this. There's been so much horror and depression lately. I feel like prancing around, I'm so happy. I'm so happy because I still can't believe we pulled this off! We just played my sister for a fool, right under her nose! This war is going to end and everything is going to be all right. Hmph...all those years of her treating me like I'm second class..." Sasha rambled on.

"Don't get too cocky. We've got to get there first. Let's leave the celebration for later." interrupted Kaida.

Kaida thought a lot about the people he'd left behind. They were loyal comrades and people who were probably going to end up giving their lives for Versua. Baraka, Xalia, Othello, Mendenhall, Emmanuelle, Jaklyn...

_Jaklyn..._

Kaida shook his head. He couldn't think about her know. But it was clear that their ideals were a sham and their government was a sham. Kaida had entertained himself with those thoughts before. But now that he'd gotten religion of the wrong kind from Sasha's words...he had no choice. He could no longer fight for a government who would use their own people as sacrificial lambs. It was hard to admit it, but perhaps the resistance and the Allies had been right all along.

"Though I guess they're going to be our enemies? How ironic." said Sasha.

Jaklyn's cherry kiss felt like poison now. It made Kaida sick to think that she was technically the enemy now. But he couldn't think about her now.

"Even Xalia...if she's still around..." said Sasha trailing off. She looked sad now, and Kaida turned to her.

"Don't worry about it. It's tough...but I've got to accept that. We both made the choice we made. We can't turn back now." said Kaida. Sasha composed herself after a very long moment.

"You're right. Just to be sure..." began Sasha.

Sasha then ripped the rear view window out of the top of the car and threw it out of the window. Kaida smiled as did she. For a mere moment, everything was going to be fine. Of course, nothing ever came easy...

_**Carbonne, Versua**_

_**January 7, 2017**_

_**2400 hrs**_

Reaching Carbonne was easier than both of the intelligence thieves thought. The city was essentially under martial law, but they'd suffered a rash of defections from the security, military and police personnel simply because they didn't care. Of course, over the past few weeks this place had been the sight of almost daily, violent, bloody skirmishes between rebels and the authorities. Their command structure was a mess, and they were simply never paid enough to do their jobs. Not to mention losing comrades everyday to a lost cause. So it was all too easy for Sasha to simply flash five thousand Osean dollars at an underpaid, overworked, morale-sapped patrol guard with a wife and five kids to ensure an easy, search-free passage into the city.

The meet was scheduled at an abandoned runway on the northern edge of town. Some of the guards knew about it, but the resistance worked something out. Perhaps the threats of death and suicide bombers were enough to convince them otherwise. The problem for the rebels was that the activity was becoming too substantial and it was about to reach a fever pitch which the incoming Sasha and Kaida...and the hot, critical intelligence they carried.

The duo got out of the car and was promptly greeted by several mask wearing resistance members. After a search, they were taken inside one of the hangars and were promptly greeted by Carlo Tenenbaum, the Looking Glass and a few other people.

"What took you so long?" said Tenenbaum, still wearing that black head garb of his.

"Got a little tied up." said Sasha sheepishly. Kaida just looked lost. He looked around with his eyes wide open. But Tenenbaum was interested in other affairs.

"I can tell...considering that you've forgotten your shoes." he said, looking at her feet. Sasha looked down, rather embarrassed at the obvious oversight.

"Oh! I didn't even notice. And before you ask...here you go." she said, retrieving the UMD disc from her top. Tenenbaum looked at her with a curious eye, then shook his head. He looked at the label, DISPATER-EDITION III DATA FILES, and he smiled as the label confirmed its purpose.

"Excellent. Excellent! We can help the Allies end this war in short order." said Tenenbaum.

"We still have to decrypt the disc, Mr. Tenenbaum." said a man suddenly appearing from one of the rooms. Kaida looked at the man. He looked like some guy from the Cape Landers region in Osea. Kaida looked around at the computers and devices set up. Whatever this was, this had to be a major undertaking...a major undertaking that would more than explain the presence of Osean Black Operations.

"Who is this man? And what is with this set up?" he asked. Tenenbaum sat down on one of the tables and stared at him behind the black balaclava.

"Allow me to explain. First, let me introduce you to Mr. Clarke. George Mason Clarke, to be exact." said Tenenbaum.

"Pleasure." he said, moving to shake the hand of Kaida. Kaida replied with the handshake and a bit of a jaundiced eye...the eye that was still functional, of course. Tenenbaum walked over to Clarke.

"This man along with his black operations group has been funding us for years. We've waited a long time for this day. Now, once their weapon is destroyed...we can finally rebuild this country as it was meant to be built." he said.

Sasha didn't expect Kaida to hijack the conversation, but he had plenty of questions to ask.

"So what's the agenda?" Kaida inquired.

"Tomorrow morning, special forces teams are going to pick us up in Blackhawk helicopters. We're heading to a base near the city of Curaso. A place protected by people you may be familiar with..." Clarke spoke.

"...let me guess, _they _are there as well?" Kaida said. Sasha was a bit confused. Who was _they_?

"By our elite pilots, yes." Clarke responded.

"The Razgriz right? The old war veterans? The ones who were supposed to be dead?" interrupted Kaida.

Clarke looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Sasha looked on in confusion. She had little knowledge of anything Kaida spoke of as this was the first time he'd said anything of this nature about the...Deceivers.

"...what the hell?! How did you know that?!" said Clarke. In immediate retrospect, he should have never said anything...but the shock came from the fact that some Versuan pilot of renown knew the aspects of Project Razgriz. But Kaida did not respond in an arrogant tone, as if the knowledge was something to be proud of.

"One of my deceased comrades recognized their flying style. He knew them when we were trained in North Osea. It's kind of a long story. I assume that all of them are the ones who've tortured us for so many weeks." said Kaida.

"Well, you are partially right. They've been serving under aliases. Normally, I wouldn't have told you...but since you're quite ahead of the curve..." said Clarke. Kaida cut him off again.

"Hey, it's no problem. We're on the same side now, right? But, what I want to know is...if we're discovered before the meeting...they're going to bring the house on us...and we're going to be goners." said Kaida. Sasha kept wondering why he kept bringing that up. Sasha had done all the planning she could on her end. She knew that she was dealing with competent people...so why was Kaida being so cynical?

"Don't worry. We've got it taken care of. We may be discovered, but...we've got a plan in place." said Clark.

"If they come, I want a plane of my own though. I'm not sitting on my ass when this going to happen." said Kaida.

"Are you sure you can fly with one eye?" Clarke asked with a jaundiced _eye_ of his own.

"Hell, I've heard stories of people doing it back during the Belkan War. Hell, there was this woman who flew with one leg..." Kaida, speaking off the cuff.

"Yes, I'm aware. It'll be very dangerous...but I suppose a good pilot with one eye is better than no driver at all. But...I think we can arrange something..." said Clarke.

Sasha breathed a sigh of relief. She'd made it this far and there was no turning back now. While she wondered whatever happened to Xalia, it was clear that was a dead issue at this point. There were far more important things going on than what she wanted. But Sasha knew she was doing something important, not just to save lives, but a complete and utter protest of years of being lied to by all of the people she cared for. All the years of her father and her sister, her uncle, and so many others making a naive fool of Sasha were at an end. That was enough cause for celebration. But it wasn't quite over yet. Sasha knew they still had to arrange the rendezvous. The problem was the Allies and the Versuans were involved in all kinds of skirmishes around the..."main line of resistance" or whatever the hell they called it.

As she stood alone atop an area of scaffolding that overlooked the rundown hangar they were in, she suddenly had the realization that everything was going to change, and it was not some delusion of Sasha's. It wasn't like the delusion held by so many of the Versuan soldiers, who tragically held onto the delusional words like "faith" and "hope" and "loyalty" spewed by Portia. Ironically, it was Portia and her father and their sycophants who'd murdered so many of their own soldiers' countrymen in the pursuit of continental hegemony and technological and military superiority; a superiority that was merely a paper tiger at this point.

The Looking Glass, who'd approached her from the rear, knew that all too well.

"Then it's really going to happen...isn't it? You're going to rebuild this place...and they'll be peace. No more death." said Sasha. Tenenbaum waited for a long time before he spoke.

"It will...if you want it to." said Tenenbaum.

"...what?" Sasha responded.

"I...when I met you in that hotel...I exerted my power over you. As if I was going to be the one to change the world. But...you made me realize that I was wrong for _me_ to decide the fate of this land. Because when this empire falls, old dogs like me will die with it...as it should be. In its place a new world will begin...and people like you will rebuild this land; rebuild it the right way. Rebuild it so that men like me need not exist...because I should never have existed. But I do...and I represent everything that is wrong with this world." said Tenenbaum.

"No...That's not true. You may have your sins, but...you're trying to change this world. I should never have yelled at you. It was your words that made me do what I did." said Sasha sympathetically.

"No...You did that yourself. And the truth is, I really _do_ represent everything is wrong with this country. I'm a killer...a murdering bastard like your father or Portia, Percival, Ignis, Rossi, your uncle. We're all killers...sinners...people who deserve to go to Hell. But it is people like you that will change the world. But we cannot stop here...I have given you the key and you've opened the door. Now you must make the room your own." said Tenenbaum.

Sasha considered his words for a very long time. When she finally had the ability to construct her words and say them, Tenenbaum cut her off. He looked behind her, and then kept his hand on Sasha's shoulder to keep her field of vision right in front of her.

"Before I forget...I do...have a present for you." he said.

"What?" said Sasha with an arched eyebrow. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"What do you think it is, shorty?" said a rather familiar voice.

Sasha turned, almost disbelieving it, and laid eyes on the one person she'd wanted to see for so long. Xalia Masson. Sasha's eyes lit up.

"Oh, my god!" she shouted. She literally jumped into Xalia's arms and she was hugging her so much that she was nearly cutting off circulation. "Oh my God! Where have you..."

Sasha was in tears at this point.

"God, I've missed you so much. I didn't think I'd ever see you alive again." she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"They found me unconscious out in the desert, I was...coming back to see you one more time...and now I'm here...and I'm here with you again." said Xalia. She then gave Sasha the biggest, wettest kiss on her forehead she'd ever had. It felt so silly, but nothing else could have soothed the soul of the tortured Sasha Masson quite like this.

Sasha's head collapsed onto the shoulder of her older sister as if she were a dear lover. Sasha was shaking at this point. This was the woman Sasha looked up to all these years. Sasha _loved_ this woman. Her mother had been gone for a long time, and Sasha loved Xalia dearly. Now, all that was left was the only woman left she ever loved. Suddenly, everything faded away and a gigantic weight was lifted off Sasha's shoulders. Xalia as well as she hugged her sister for a very long time, making up for all the time they missed together. Xalia looked over her entire life...and even all those times with Baraka, even as she still missed him even now, did not compare to this moment. It was the happiest time in both of their lives. But nothing lasted forever...

The _other_ sister was about to get involved...and a lot of heads were about to roll. But for a few hours...the two benevolent sisters acted as true sisters would. They were going to save their crumbling homeland.

_**Casta van Veranna**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**January 8, 2016**_

_**0400 hrs**_

Jonas Teslat had been used to sleepless nights; but nothing the likes of this. He'd replaced Lashus as Portia's lieutenant for her "investigative purposes". And Portia Masson was the last person anyone wanted to talk to now.

Portia had returned from an inspection of the Dispater, along with Percival as they addressing concerns of a inevitable Allied attack. But the Dispater had spent for the day and Zorba was initiating the recharging phase. Then, for whatever reason, she flipped out. Apparently, her sister Sasha's husband, along with several other officers had been inside the archives. That was initially a cause for concern in reality. High level personnel were always seen in that room. Teslat had to be woken up from his early catnap to attend to this rather...overreaction. They checked the orders from Command, which was to deliver a set of architectural plans to an outpost in Ciudad. The orders checked out, although unusual. But that wasn't enough for Portia.

What drove Teslat insane about Portia was that for all her bossiness, all her control-freak nature, all her ordering around, she ended up always wanting to do someone else's job for them. Portia had investigated the Archives herself and turned up evidence that plans to the Dispater had been taken...and replaced with a copy. _That_ was validation of her concerns. Which was ironic because Portia was not known for being anal-retentive or meticulous in detail like Lashus or Percival were; talents which would have been able to spot the copy rather than the plans themselves.

Portia Masson went _berserk_.

The officer in question, a general, was brought in an interrogated, not by Teslat, but by Portia. It didn't take much to break him. After all, the electro-shocking and the threat of castration was enough to make any male break. It turned out that he represented a group of defeatists, who'd orchestrated the entire affair. So Portia rewarded him for his honesty...by blowing his head off. Then she went even more insane by shooting _General Morales _for his failure to monitor this. After she was sequestered in the medical room for awhile (for everyone else's safety), she was given some depressants and managed to calm down. Now Teslat was working his ass off trying to figure out what the hell was going on. He ordered the offending officers rounded up and imprisoned.

Luckily, he caught a major break by his men in Carbonne, who spotted the sisters...or so it was said. With the plans of the Dispater in the hands of Portia's sister, officers who were defeatists or planning to defect...it didn't take much to put two and two together. They were going to turn the plans over to the Allies and if they were gain control of those plans...it would be all over.

"Got it..." said Teslat hanging up the phone and turning to Portia, "Okay, Madam...we've got word from one of our agents. A pair of eyewitnesses has placed both your sisters inside the village of Carbonne...some 100 miles from the Allied lines." he said. "Now this was hours ago, but the area they went...they haven't left...from what I understand."

"Damn!" Portia shouted, the meds apparently having not having much of an effect.

"It doesn't necessarily mean that any contacts are there. All we know is that they were seen there. Somewhere in the Caras area of that town; the northern area." said Teslat.

"We've had that entire town on lockdown since day one...so how could..." said another officer.

"Maybe they've drummed up some more sympathy for their cause." Percival added.

"If that is the case, the entire town is to be considered hostile." said Portia.

"Whoa...whoa...calm down Madam. Let's be reasonable here..." said Teslat.

Portia gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Are you questioning my judgment, Teslat?" she said.

Teslat, despite his...past issues, was more levelheaded than Saito and Lashus combined. He wasn't going to risk yet another PR nightmare if some harm were to come to Carbonne.

"...Yes! Listen, we can't just start going in guns blazing yet, even if they have the information about the Dispater. I'm not trying to be gun shy, but...we don't have complete confirmation yet. All we know is what the locals know, which is suspect intel anyway." said Teslat. Teslat was trying to be reasonable. What if they were wrong? What if they'd already left? But that seemed a bit weak; perhaps it came from Teslat not expecting that kind of a reaction from Portia. But that in it of itself was a naive notion having seen Portia personally execute two top ranking officers in ten seconds flat.

"We can't take that chance. If the Allies find some vulnerability in our weapon and exploit it, our trump is over. We'll be finished!" Percival cut in.

"So let's rain Dispater's wrath down on the town and be done with it." interrupted another officer. That officer was one of the personnel from the Tower.

"No...they'd be expecting that. Besides, we used a lot of our reserve power on the previous attack. We'd be risking..." Percival began.

"Wait..." said Teslat answering his ringing satellite phone. "_What? When? Okay...okay...really? Damn! How long? Okay, that's enough time. _We've got more problems. The Allies making the exchange at dawn." added Teslat.

Portia's body appeared shaken...and that wasn't good. Because when Portia started shaking like this...she was always enraged.

"Alright, Teslat...bring me everyone. I want a _Clean Sweep_. I want all of them dead, my sisters, Kaida, the rebels, the Tenenbaum, the Oseans, the entire town. I want Carbonne g_one_." Portia said.

"You want...everyone? Now? But..." said Teslat. Portia turned angrily to him.

"EVERYONE! I want Carbonne burned to the ground!" she shouted.

Teslat didn't ask another question. He knew he'd be next on Portia's hit list if he didn't act fast. The only problem was that mobilizing a strike force for that kind of an operation was going to be tough. It would take at least an hour and a half to marshal everyone. Teslat was not unfamiliar to this kind of routine. When he was a part of Orchid, he'd participated in two of these "Clean Sweeps". These brutal operations were simple: destroy everything and everyone. No prisoners. No survivors.

_**Curaso, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0400 hrs**_

It had been some time since Kei Nagase and David Lovecraft slept peacefully together. Usually, it would always be one who would have a nightmare or two...or simply just couldn't rest well. But, that was not the case in this case. But despite this, both had different things in the back of their minds.

For Kei Nagase, it was lamenting the past that was in the back of her head. Seven years ago, she lamented war in general. But who wouldn't lament that ridiculous war in Yuktobania? But now, there were so many things to lament about. The events of the other day were enough. When the Dispater attack broke through the Leviticus electromagnetic barrier, it destroyed a grand majority of the camp and the town. Even as she lay her head in Curaso, they were still finding bodies. Seventeen officers, crew, and pilots were killed in that brutal attack. That alone was enough to be forlorn. But, there laid another problem: the entire underlying reason behind it all.

It was October 1st of the previous year when it all started. The Versuans had tested their massive electrical toy on what was supposed to be a relaxing cruise for the small family of David, Kei and their four year old daughter. But Catherine died and nearly a thousand other people did as well. Now, that weapon had killed tenfold and counting. The most painful thing was that both of them knew that if worse came to worst, the Versuans would have no problem using their own people or soldiers as sacrificial lambs for a hint of any kind of victory.

But David did not hold the overwhelming hatred that Kei held in her heart for all these people. She kept her hatred to herself, even though she knew they didn't start the war. But perhaps Lucien was right...maybe they were mindless sheep. But another part of her couldn't blame these people. They had helped them in the past. One native woman had saved her husband from the wrath of a White Crow sycophant of a cop in Basra.

And David had fetched her some herbal stuff to help Kei get over her nasty cold. The only problem was the disgusting side effects of the cures. For most of the previous day and the day before that, Kei spent much of her time vomiting up everything she ate. But once her stomach stopped curdling, she could breathe again. Her nose was not an oil leak of disgusting phlegm, much to the relief of Sueltana and her husband.

So she tried to suppress her hatred. She tried to dream about life back in their home of St. Helene. She dreamed about life with the man she'd loved since Sand Island. She dreamed about life with this vagabond child, and maybe another child of their own. She dreamed about the friends they had, the things they both did together. But her thoughts were interrupted by a coughing fit.

As she awoke, she looked at the box next to her. She smiled and remembered that this day, even at 0400, was both the date of birth for her husband and the vagabond child. The gift she planned to give them both was unharmed, even after surviving the Dispater attack in Karbala. It was something she held onto for years. She looked at both of them, and simply laid back down beside her husband and went back to sleep.

For David Lovecraft, the man formerly known as Blaze, he never judged a country's population because of the acts of the few. For all the sins of the White Crow, David knew that the people of Verusa didn't start this war; no matter how much Lucien Jackson would say to the contrary. These people didn't have much of a choice anyway. Most of the civilian populace was at or below the poverty line. Enough desperate people create desperate demands to deliver them from all the terrible effects of poverty and the torrid conditions in this land. But twelve years after the fact, nothing had changed. Grimm and Cormorance were right; nothing had changed.

David tried to hope he could simply do what he swore to do and go home in peace. A lot weighed on his mind as he'd seen more terrible things than Kei had. And it wasn't just the death of his daughter...

But now it seemed the war was beginning to turn with all these insurrections and chaos in the command structure of the Versusans. But the cost had been high, and would continue to be high. David tried not to think about the events of the other day. All those bodies, the charred remains of Karbala...it made him sick to think about it.

The tragedy of it was that it was obvious humans had the ability to learn from their mistakes. But every war happened because apparently, some people forget that. Every war, including the one David found himself caught up in, started because of greed, arrogance, hate, fear and worst of all delusion. It was the same tired-ass story again and again and again...and everyone was getting sick of it. And yet again, Blaze found himself caught up in it.

The struggle was weighing on everyone. The conditions were appalling at times and death was everywhere. Dead people, civilians, soldiers...dead animals. Death was everywhere and nowhere. Versua was a lonely, hostile, deadly place and there was nowhere to hide.

Back six years ago, David had his own ideas about the future. It was a shared dream with Kei Nagase that they could have a full, lively, close family with several bright, loveable kids; a family where there would be neither absence of love as Kei had experienced nor fraught with needless drama and tragedy had David had experienced. Catherine's death had hurt Kei the most. She was a piece of her flesh and soul ripped from her as if it were a clone. But she was taken away like a limb as if by a ferocious animal. Catherine was both of them by blood.

But suddenly, when Cormorance awoke both of them for some surprise morning briefing, David looked at the sleeping Sueltana. Catherine was both of them by blood. But Sueltana was both of them by proxy. Catherine's death had been painful, but this vagabond girl represented her in spirit. It was as if God created this moment for them to meet as the pilot to a girl digging through a trash can in Yuktobania. David had questioned God's existence his entire life; even when he buried his mother or married Kei in that church in Oured. But now, with this kid and the difficult leg of the war still in limbo, it was a hell of a time to start believing in God.

"What is this about? I was almost asleep." said Kei.

So both begrudgingly walked, or rather doubled over, to the place where Lucien was. Lucien was talking to an officer then displayed some crude map over a table.

"Sorry to call you here so soon. But we've got good news and bad news." said Lucien.

"What's the good news?" said a yawning Lillian.

"We've got a chance at the architectural plans of the Dispater." he said. At that point, everyone lit up and adrenaline began to flow through the tired bodies of the men and women in the tent.

"Hell yeah! What did I say? What did I say?!" Fisch said pointing at Cormorance. Lucien held up his hand to calm down the group.

"Here's the bad news. The plans are held by a few Versuan individuals who are attempting to defect to our side with the plans. They are holding up with the leader of the resistance in a town called Carbonne some 100 miles south of us. We are aware the enemy is aware of this, and are planning to act against it. Your job is to make sure nothing occurs to the town or our contacts. An Osean government agent is with them along with the main leadership of the resistance. Keep them out of harm's way and hold the area until reinforcements arrive. The other Allies are tied up in some operation. It may be some time before reinforcements get there." said Jackson.

"So we got to do all this by _ourselves_." said Lillian, discouraged.

"Your contact will be a fighter by the callsign of...Incubus. He will take off from an old warehouse where the contingent is gathered once he knows you're in the air. He will assist in helping you rid the skies of any enemies. We've already changed the IFF, so he won't show up as an enemy. Again, we've had very little time to set up, this information just came to us...and we've got to act fast." said Jackson.

"Fine, let's get going!" said Grimm rather passionately. David looked at him as if Grimm had taken on yet another persona. That was just not like him at all.

"Since when have you been so enthusiastic?" David responded.

"Hell, I want this to end too. Let's get this show on the road." said Cormorance, cutting in.

David scoffed and let out a smirk.

"Amen." said David.

Everyone looked at him with arched eyebrows. It wasn't so much that he said the word...it was the way he said it. David looked at the piercing, confused eyes...

"Was it something I said?" David asked. Kei snickered and began to walk past him.

"Let us pray..." Kei added, laughing out loud...and so did everyone else.

It was a hell of a time to start believing in God.

_**Somewhere in Clavis, Verusa**_

_**January 8, 2016**_

_**0430 hrs**_

Valen Yancing had been around for years. He'd been rather invisible during this entire conflict. He'd been fighting, but in this particular case it was more on the defensive side. It was a more important job than simply defending the country. He'd been charged with defending the Dispater from air attack. But now, he had a more important mission at hand. A Clean Sweep order had come down and Valen knew all too well what that meant. But in this particular case, he had a bone to pick with one Baraka Molina. Molina had been the understudy of Yancing for a long time and even though he would admit he was the more admired pilot...Molina _knew_ who the better pilot was. Valen had him plucked from his squad and brought here for a chat. But it was more than a simple chat...it was a recruitment job. As scheduled, he showed up at one of the many airbases around the Dispater area. But this was no ordinary hangar. It held the newest creations of the Demogorgon facility and they were all hidden beneath white tarp. But Baraka Molina knew nothing of this...yet.

"Hello there Baraka. It's been years since I've seen you." he said walking up to him and shaking his hand.

"I'm sure the pleasure's all yours." Baraka replied.

"You're probably wondering why I've called you here. So allow me to explain. The Allies are coming for our trump card, our 'lighting rod' as they jest, and we must defend it. And I want you to join and assist us." said Valen.

"Seriously? You want me to join Diabalos?" Baraka quickly replied.

Baraka had once entertained the idea that he was the best pilot in Versua. But with men like Yancing and many of the old, dead heroes of the old war...they were like papal bulls. Their word was law...even to men like Molina.

"Why not? There's always room for one more. You and I are a rare breed of pilot; people who let their lives be consumed with flying." said Yancing.

"Well, I wouldn't be so quick to say that..." said Molina.

After he said that, a not-so-obvious remark about the missing Xalia, he felt that he should never had said that. To men like Yancing, that was a sign of obvious weakness.

"You mean Xalia?" said Valen.

"Exactly. I fight because of her. I wish I knew what happened to her..." Baraka began.

Yancing cut him off. "But she wasn't the reason you fought originally...right?"

"No." Baraka said slowly.

"The forget about her! Her fate is her own. Our place is on the battlefield of the now." said Valen, his finger pointing at Baraka's face.

Baraka was stunned. To think that he could just...forget Xalia, even after Kaida had thought that Baraka had forgotten her...

"You want me to just forget about her...just like that? After all we've been through?" said Baraka, incredulous.

"Forget her! We don't have the luxury of the past. This is war! We don't have time for feelings and emotions. Our job is to kill...plain and simple. Everything else is ancillary." said Valen.

"...before all this, she seemed rather down on the war. She spoke negatively...as if we would never win this war. And she goes missing like this..." said Baraka, thinking of the past.

Yancing smiled a bit. He knew what was going on.

"Did you ever consider the possibility that she ran away like a coward?" said Valen.

"What?! No...She wouldn't..." Baraka said shocked. He couldn't believe that Yancing would ask that!

"Oh,_ really_? Let me tell you a story. I was reading this Osean magazine and in it they were commemorating the twentieth year since the end of the Belkan War. They were interviewing this pilot, a Belkan one, who was living in some place called Sudentor. He seemed like a nice guy; beautiful wife, five children, a nice job, a nice suburban house. And he talks about the Belkan War. He was a homeless kid growing up. His parents were homeless and somehow he worked his tail off to become a fighter pilot. He served proudly, even serving over here when the Belkans occupied us again in '93 to '94. He fought in the Belkan War, achieving fourteen kills. Then, when the war went south for the Belkans...he was shot down. This man...ran away! He was shot down...and instead of going home...he goes and surrenders to the Allies! He spoke of talking about the same things Xalia said about the war. 'It's over, there's no shot, game over'. The same language he used...Xalia used." said Valen.

Valen paused for a mere moment, and then looked back at Baraka. He walked over towards him.

"All I could think about when I read it was that this man was a coward. He was weak, he was a liar, he was a traitor, and he was a pragmatist. Here is a man who dedicated himself to the arts of flying, like us, but when it mattered most...he fled. He ran away. I always question people who question themselves during bad periods like this. Xalia was shot down...by her own comrades...and ran away." said Valen, now turned around and pontificating about the room.

Baraka gave him a confused look. "How do you know?" he asked.

"I know a great, many things. She was captured by the Allies, but...she got away. But did she return to us. No...She ran away again. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to be a patriot. She was weak. She was a coward. Then again, she is a woman. All women are weak and inconsequential. No surprises there." said Baraka.

Baraka wouldn't believe it. He couldn't. Xalia...a coward?! But now was the time to call out the hypocrisy in Valen's words.

"No...That can't be true. And besides...who are you to call women weak? You serve a woman...yet you wouldn't call Portia weak to her face. That is so transparent. You can't have it both ways." said Baraka.

"Irrelevant of that, that Belkan man turned his back on his allies! They were people who supported him and nurtured him...a country that was so good to him. And his reward is what? A wife with stop-traffic looks? Children? A dog? What about his comrades? Men and women who died for a cause? They didn't give up on it. That Belkan pilot gave up on it. He gave up on his lifelong dream the second things went bad. Just like the Southern Alliance! Just like Xalia. I'm not surprised. People like that Belkan, Xalia, Kaida, Adon Mora...all of them are people who never show up when it matters. That's not the case with men like us." said Valen.

"You've got no business talking about just cause Valen! You only serve yourself and always have!" said Baraka.

"But I know where my loyalties lie. Men like us are bound by honor and loyalty. That is our job. We are disposable. Me like us know that and we accept it. It is the life we've chosen. Men like us know there is no turning back. Just Xalia...and her sister Sasha...and Kaida...who intend to betray us to the Allies." said Valen.

Baraka nearly had a heart attack.

"What?!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the hangar.

"They intend to turn over important information about the Dispater to the enemy. If we lose the Dispater...then the war is over for us." said Valen.

"No...it can't be?" said Baraka shaking his head.

"Believe it. That's the reason Portia assigned us to our impending task. We are to kill all of them...and destroy the town of Carbonne; the town that harbors the traitors. They hold the leaders of the resistance as well as representatives of our enemy. An exchange is to be made in about one hour or so. We must complete this task before then." Valen said coldly.

"No...Why would she...I can't believe she would..." said Baraka lost in words. Valen turned away from him.

"Believe it. Such an insult...you were thinking all about her all this time...and she decides to defect. You would have had her love...but alas, that is not to be." Valen said with a smile.

Baraka banged his fist against something metal beneath the white tarp. This was a woman who preached about protecting what she believed in. This was a woman who always wanted to show up when it mattered, but never could due to luck or some other reason. This was a woman he _loved_. And now, when it mattered most, she was willing to throw away everything she believed in and Baraka had given her. Baraka had trained her, nurtured her flying skills...and this was the thanks he got?! This was a woman he'd changed his philosophy on life for; he'd almost died for her, and had killed for her tenfold! He'd killed so many enemy pilots to protect her...and now it all meant _nothing_. His sacrifices, his pride...his love for this woman...it was all gone now.

And Kaida and Sasha too...how could they? _How could they?!_

"When we do we start?" he said with poison in his words.

"I'm surprised. Just like that? I'm amazed. I thought I'd have to do more wrangling. So, I arranged a new ride for you." said Valen, revealing the craft beneath the white tarp. "These are our vessels."

Baraka stared in amazement at the type of plane he was looking at. It was the cutting edge of technology.

"My goodness. How in the world...?" asked Baraka, incredulous as ever. Valen touched the bottom of the plane.

"These were developed to be the escorts to the Azazael. But, they have other uses. These were the brainchildren of Dimitri Ignis. Developed deep within the ice-locked Demogorgon facility. The Belkans built the structure back in the eighties as a test facility for their aircraft. We managed to get it up to speed several years ago. From that place...these aircraft were born. These things are rather easy to fly. You can let your hands take over with these things. Your abilities will make the difference." said Valen.

Baraka looked at the plane for a bit.

"That whore...after all I did for her..." Baraka began angrily, "You know, for the first time in my life...I'm looking forward to killing someone I knew."

"You'll get your chance. Come on, we may be able to get a jump on the action. The TU-160 bombers still have to be prepped, but...we can get in on it soon...very soon." Valen concluded.

Valen replied with that evil smile he had. But Baraka didn't consider it evil anymore. It was just a smile. It was a harbinger of things to come. Perhaps Baraka should have had more concerns. It was the first time he'd be flying the wing of Valen Yancing. To fly the wing of Valen Yancing was to follow him, not into _battle_, but into a kaleidoscope of death and insanity. One thing was certain, God needed to have some serious mercy for the poor people of Carbonne.

_**Skies Above Carbonne, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2016**_

_**0600 hrs**_

It seemed so strange. The war had taken a most unusual turn now. But for Blaze and Edge, they had seen this once before. Most had seen this story play out more than once in history. During the last war, there were people who defied their own nation to do what was right. That was the same here. And yet, all these events seemed bizarre and jarring, as if it were all one gigantic puzzle. That puzzle seemed to create a magic door; a door which should never be opened.

"Cormorance, could you go to UHF Secure -10." said Fisch.

Of course, Kei Nagase knew what that frequency was after some detective work. And her personal distrust for these two men drove her decision to spy upon their conversation. She did it partially out of spite for these men; two men who Nagase believed to be nothing more than opportunists. But then again, she always found some humor in the conversations of two men; two men who could not be more different.

"What is it?" Cormorance asked.

"I don't buy this for a second. This has got ambush written all over it." said Fisch.

"Do you have a better plan?" retorted Cormorance.

"Yeah, we turn around and hightail it out of here!" said Fisch.

"Oh, so _you_ wanted to have _big_, gigantic plan to attack that gigantic lighting rod, and you complain about it being a suicide mission, but you're willing to flee when we have the opportunity to have that plan? God, isn't that phony? You can't have it both ways Fisch." replied a sardonic Cormorance.

"It's not that...It's just that I have a bad feeling about this. What, I can't have a bad feeling anymore? And you can't judge anyone Captain. You're tagging along, yet you don't give two cents about these people...yet you're willing to accept their help. Sounds kind of hypocritical to me." replied Fisch.

"...whatever." said Cormorance.

Kei switched back over having heard their conversation and smirked at both men being caught up in their own contradictions. But truth be told, everyone's motives were suspect at this point. Kei couldn't be too harsh on them anymore...after all, she and her husband lied about their own identities and broke their own beliefs to come here and take revenge. Despite all of Kei's emotions about what had happened, she still kept her daughter's death in the back of her mind. It wouldn't go away even through the good times she had here. She did not forget that horrible night in the sea. She did not forget being thrown from that cruise ship like a ragdoll by the same weapon that had killed so many Allied personnel and even the Versuans' own people. She would not forget.

"We got one craft on radar. It's the contact coming in at 355." said David, sharp as ever.

"Way to go, birthday boy." replied Kei.

"It's moving at a leisurely pace." said Cormorance, having picked it up as well. This must have been the enigmatic "Incubus".

"...Can you..." said a voice over the radio.

David was a bit incredulous. It was extremely rare for an enemy to be able to tap in the Allies' communications. It wasn't easy back during the war in Yuktobania six years ago. It was even harder to do these days as the Versuans' radio calls could almost never be heard and vice versa. So how did he...?

"What is it?" asked Lillian.

"How did he tap into our radio net?" Grimm said, rather mystified.

"Can you hear me?" said the voice. The voice seemed calm and melodious.

"Uh, yeah...I can hear you. Are you Incubus?" asked David.

"...in the flesh and metal." replied whoever Incubus was.

"Where are your comrades?" asked Cormorance.

"Last time I checked they were all hiding on the outskirts of town. Let's see...Sasha, Xalia, Carlo, Mason...anyone? Where are you?" said the pilot.

David froze. Xalia? Wasn't that the same name as the Versuan pilot they'd captured days ago? The same one who escaped during the Dispater attack? How did she find her way here?

"It's me. We're just leaving now. God, that was close." said a female voice over the radio.

Kaida breathed a sigh of relief.

"We better hurry up before the cavalry comes. We got 145 miles to the Allied lines and there no sleep 'til Curaso." said Incubus.

"Who are you anyway?" asked Grimm.

"My name...is Ammon Kaida. I come to you unafraid, but who I am is not important. It won't be in the grand scheme of things. But I imagine you must know everything about grand schemes...shouldn't you Mr. Sosabee? Or should I say, Mr. Lovecraft?" said Incubus.

David felt his heart stop...and he wasn't the only one to do so. David suddenly felt exposed. How did he know his real name? The name Kaida sounded familiar; David remembered that Jackson had mentioned him before. He was the pilot that came from this country and trained in Osea, like many others. Kaida flew his plane, a plane that looked almost like a Su-33 of some type, near them.

"How did you...?" David began. But he didn't have to finish the statement...Kei did it for him.

"How did you know that?!" shouted Kei, almost in a bigger shock than her husband.

"Ah, so the second wheel lives. If we survive this, Nagase, right? If we survive this...I'll tell you why." said Kaida.

_Did he know all this time?_ David thought. That didn't seem to make sense though. If he knew long ago, more than likely the enemy would have known the Razgriz were still alive. David deduced that perhaps he knew...but didn't indulge the enemy in this information. That could have come from one simple reason: whatever grievances he had with the Versuan Command or the cause had something to do with this Kaida not being forthcoming with this rather crucial piece of information.

"What the hell is he talking about?" said Cormorance, incredulous.

"Wait a damn minute!? Is he talking about..." Lillian began.

"Oh, damn it all! Forget about that now; here comes the party crashers!" said Kaida, cutting the conversation short.

"Where!?" Kei shouted.

"Just south of us at...12:00...on the nose at 178 miles and closing. Or directly at my six you might say." replied Kaida.

Grimm was bit petrified. He had no idea how this man, this Incubus, had made his friends from the war all those years ago. But he hadn't mentioned him; so was that good or bad?

"How many do you count Artemis?" he said, trying to change the subject.

"It's gotta be at least a dozen and the radar signature is kinda weird." replied Alou.

Navarro, in the backseat of Kei's F-14D was tracking the enemy movements. They seemed to have strange and wavy radar signatures. Navarro had been adept at detecting the proper enemies on radar...but this was just wrong. He replied in shock at the bizarre-looking signatures.

"Whoever's chasing us is doing it in planes I've never seen before!" said Navarro.

"More than a dozen of them...against seven planes? This isn't good!" said Lillian.

"Kaida, do you know who's chasing us?" said David.

"Thirteen planes...there's only one group of the force that has a squad of thirteen planes. It's got to be the _Skull and Crossbones _squad, Diabolos." said Kaida.

David didn't need to analyze that one. He knew that anything that involved skulls and crossbones were bad news. But Kaida added the kicker...

"...even Mephisto is inferior to them." the Versuan concluded.

"_Skull_ and _Crossbones_? And they're better than the red Su-37s. Ho...ly shit. This is some _bad_ juju." said Fisch.

"I'm afraid that is the understatement of the century, Mr. Fisch. These men are seasoned veterans." replied Kaida.

Then, Kei and David wondered how he knew about _Fisch_, of all people. It was clear that his knowledge extended far beyond her and her husband's existence. Perhaps that Mason Clarke had something to do with it. Of course, George Mason Clarke wouldn't have been that boorish to tell Kaida about their real names at this point. What good would it do? But that didn't matter at the moment.

They had enemy planes bearing down on the people possessing critical information; not to mention that the enemies were going to stop at nothing to make sure the rebels didn't reach Allied Command. That meant the entire city of Carbonne was at risk. And surely the Versuans would spare that city no mercy. And why would the White Crow's leadership not do that? They haphazardly fragged their own troops, burned their own oil wells, and even inflicted death on their own civilians in Disra. Kei had stopped expecting any mercy from the enemy save the ones who had some sense...like this Kaida guy.

"Be careful...I've met their leader in person...and he and his men are _psychopaths_." said Sasha over the radio.

David, Grimm and Kei all scoffed. They'd had their encounters with psychopaths for pilots long ago. But at this point, perhaps even the Belkans would have been appalled at some of things the Versuans had done. And this was only what _Wardog_ knew about the White Crow. This wasn't even taking into account what Sasha and Ammon knew.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Kei, "but...wait...nevermind."

"They're closing in!" David said in.

"Get ready to block them! We've got to keep the city from getting hit from those guys!" shouted Lillian.

There was a tenseness that could be felt now. The situation had become serious now, as now the enemy was threatening the entire area. They couldn't let this entire town become a casualty because of the actions of a few brave ones.

"The radar! It's...warping...no way! They're not going to..." said Cormorance.

"They wouldn't drop Dispater here! Not directly on a civilian town and their own troops! So what gives?" shouted Fisch.

The first of the planes began to separate some from the pack of the additional twelve. None of the Wardog pilots could get a radar lock on the central plane...or any of the others. Apparently, it was generating some kind of a ECM field. Suddenly, as they had made contact with the initial plane, a group of red lights began to swirl around it. Wisely, everyone began to make evasive maneuvers as the other planes began to push in all their own. After a tense moment, the central craft fired several purplish rays...rays that were deadly similar to those bolts from the Dispater. They all thankfully missed, but the look of shock on the faces of Wardog's contingent said it all.

"What the hell?! Those planes..." said David.

"Where the hell did that come from?! Did one of the planes shoot that?!" shouted Lillian.

The enemy planes seemed to slice through the air unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. The planes alone looked unusual. They looked like black knives, and all of them had metal ports...or slits...along the side. They were almost like black vipers. And they looked familiar...they looked like planes that Kaida flew years ago when he was mere test pilot.

"The Vampires! I should have known!" said Kaida.

"Vampires?! What the hell are those?" said Fisch.

Before Kaida could even begin to explain, the enemies had begun to move closer behind them. Then they moved away, and both groups almost began to size each other up. As this occurred, the enemy lead pilot spoke for the first time. At this point, no one questioned how they managed to tap into open lines...no one cared at this point.

"Attention Allied pilots. I am the messenger from the Underworld...and I've come to add your deaths to my list of victories." said the pilot.

David Lovecraft had no idea who Valen Yancing was and vice versa. The only thing in David's mind was that this man, however he was, had come to kill them. That was enough for him. But David knew that this...Diabalos, had the makings of an elite group of pilots. But Kei was offended. She felt this enemy pilot was being arrogant in predicting their deaths. Not to mention that Kei Nagase still had the will to fight on, even though she carried an immense personal pain in her heart. It was that pain that made her keep struggling and carrying along in this macabre affair so far away from the long-missed peace in St. Helene she shared with the man formerly known as Blaze.

"We'll we've come to send you and your people back to Hell. The words of dead men have no meaning here!" Kei yelled, rather indignant.

David had obviously noticed that his wife had become a lot more indignant during this terrible war...and for good reason. But now, David still felt guilty about being sad only for him and his wife's loss. Everyone around them was suffering, and yet David was here because of his own want for revenge. So David found his motivation in that, rather than his wife who found her motivation solely through revenge. But both had survived this fear, so who was to say that one methodology was better than another?

"So, now I have a voice to my enemy. It's a shame you had to leave us Ammon and it's a shame I have to do what I have to do. But orders are orders." said the former Mephisto man.

Kaida winced. He was shocked to hear the voice of Baraka Molina. It just seemed...out of character for him. Was he desperate to win? He was delusional...but he didn't seem that delusional. It just didn't suit his personality to go off and join with that psychopath Yancing. It just wasn't right. He would abandon his old allies to join this group? It just wasn't right.

"What the hell? So you've left Mephisto and joined Diabolos. It's too bad it's going to be a short career." said Kaida.

"Don't take this personally. After I deal with you and Xalia I can get my revenge against the Decievers." said Baraka.

"Personal? You've come here to kill us. I take stuff like that _very _personally. You're not touching this city, you're not touching Xalia or Sasha or anyone else, Baraka. I'll kill you first...and any of your friends that get in the way as well!" said Kaida.

"You have no chance against us. Our fighters are equipped with the finest technology in the world." Baraka responded. That seemed to annoy Kaida more than ever. It seemed like such a cliche, boring response.

"What is your problem? Have you completely lost your mind?! Alright, you've come with your best...so I might as well give you mine." said Kaida.

At this point, guns began to switch on and missile locks were already being heard. It was on now...and there was no turning back. Kaida had learned that long ago, but now the game was on for the Wardog.

"We're heading out now! We're going to try to mosey north to the Allied lines. Keep us covered and keep the city out of harm's way!" said Sasha.

Now there was no turning back for anyone. Kaida didn't fear any possible death for him, he feared what would happen if Sasha were to come to harm. Even though they weren't technically together anymore, it would be nothing less than a disaster if Sasha were to die. Sasha also had a unborn kid neither could put a face or a gender too...but it was alive. And that was what drove Kaida to the brink with Baraka. Baraka Molina had come with the intent to kill not only Ammon himself, but a pregnant Sasha. That was _unforgivable_. Ammon would not hesitate to kill Baraka Molina- or his friends, and even his mother if it came to it- before that could happen.

But if Ammon had reserved fear, Wardog Squadron did not. They simply responded with the usual Osean chutzpah they possessed... an audaciousness only possessed by an elite few.

"Don't worry princess; we'll keep the bad guys away! Now let's wrap this up!" Cormorance said.

"Well, what are we waiting for! Let's go get these bastards!" shouted Grimm.

Grimm had faced down insane pilots before. He'd faced down Grabacr, Ofnir...what could these guys do? Grimm and everyone else had realized from their previous fights with these so-called elite pilots of the VAF that they were mostly paper tigers. Some had been trained with Osean tactics, but they had not expected the guts and passion that the elite pilots of the Allied units delivered. Just as they had with Grabacr and Ofnir, they were defeated through the passion and will of people who wanted it more...not to mention the fact that the Belkans let their own arrogance get in the way.

But with Valen Yancing, it was a different story. Unlike the men of Grabacr and Ofnir, Yancing was not an ultraconservative patriot. He was a cold, heartless killer; a murderer behind a cockpit. Nothing more; nothing less. Yancing never believed he was truly beholden to anything known as rules and morals. He just did what he wanted to do...and it just so happened that what he was _told_ to do was exactly what he _wanted_ to do. He was ordered to kill...and he did it. And he did it well.

So he eyed each one of the members of the enemy right in front of them. And they all became just another group of names on his hit list. Because behind his helmet's visor lied not simply eyes, but cold, calculating machines in his mind. His eyes were an extension of his deadly art...and everything he laid his cold eyes on died before them.

As Blaze prepared to face down his enemies to protect the town, he thought about the memories of before. It was the perfect time to start believing in God. But, there was one problem. God was nowhere to be found in Verusa.

The will of man, not the will of God, was going to decide the fate of Carbonne. All around the battlefield, battle lines had been drawn and everyone had a choice to make. Pilots were taking off from bases south of the city, soldiers were on the move and everyone had a choice to make. The will of man was going to decide the fate of Carbonne and the fate of Versua...and possibly the fate of the world.

But nothing ever came easy, and the choices that had to be made had nothing to do with God's will. It was what every man and woman on the battlefield (and those that had yet to join) believed. It was going to be a battle of personal beliefs.

Nothing saved more people than beliefs; and yet nothing killed more people...than beliefs.

Next: Chapter 24: The Tragedy of Carbonne


	25. The Tragedy of Carbonne

Note: Again, I have a chapter that was a bit longer than I anticipated it would be. I wanted to move the last part to the next chapter, but it wouldn't make sense given the time-frame.

Chapter 25: The Tragedy of Carbonne

"_The problem with people like you is that you can't tell friend from foe. Terror is not your friend!" - Jack Bartlett_

_**Skies Above Carbonne, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0609 hrs**_

David Lovecraft and everyone else in the Allied contingent were fighting in the most vicious dogfight they'd ever been in. The man from St. Helene had faced many challenges before...but none like this. They were turning into planes they could turn on a dime and like a flock of birds. But these aircraft were not stealth...they looked odd, but they were not stealth. It was if they were created for one purpose: the destruction of enemies on the ground and in the air.

Not to mention that it was hard enough to see anything in this morning darkness. The planes of Wardog were shaded blue and gray and the Vampires, whatever they were, were coated in black. It was hard enough to see friend from foe. However, the eventual rising sun gave everyone enough ambient light to see...somewhat.

Then, not to mention the absurd maneuverability of the planes they were fighting...their deadly weapons were another huge matter...

"Here they come again!" shouted Lillian.

David saw the group of planes split into two groups; one of six and one of seven. The group of six planes began to fan out right above David and Kei. That only meant one thing and both of them realized it: they were going to rain death down on them. Both thought the same thing as they maneuvered into the blind spot of the descending enemy planes. From their sides, nearly three dozen deadly, purplish lighting-looking lasers emerged from the enemy planes. They were like superheated needles bearing down on them. They burst right behind the husband and wife pairing. Kei looked back and spoke in a rare nervous tone.

"What _were_ those things!?" she said in a panic.

"Same color as the Dispater's fire. I'm not surprised." said David, making the assumption that however they created the X-9A Dis capacitor had been newly applied to fighter jets.

David looked below and thanked God that none of those hit the town. Wardog had successfully drawn the enemy forces away from the city. But something struck David as odd. These strange looking fighters were all too willing to oblige. Now why would that be? Unless...they had friends that were showing up to the party late. That was the obvious theory. That told everyone one fact: the Versuan leadership had considered the town expendable.

David had wondered if that Kaida fellow had wondered the same thing. It made a brutal kind of sense given the body of work from the White Crow.

Speaking of Kaida, he was having difficulties of his own. As everyone kept turning and turning to avoid the enemy planes, he had a realization that this was going to be the greatest challenge he'd ever had. He'd flown many planes in his short life...and he thought he handle most situations. But the events of the past few days proved that was not the case. The problem wasn't the flying part. It was the depth perception part. After all, he was flying with one eye and his problem with depth perception was compounded by the darkness. But if he didn't do something, the Allies would have been one plane short...and one plane short against these bastards was death.

If only he could find Baraka and kill him...but there was another set of enemies out there. He couldn't focus on Baraka. _There's too many weird looking planes...goddamn_, thought Kaida.

Then again, he had other matters to attend to...like the welfare of Sasha. Kaida had been informed of the group's intentions of leaving. His task was to make sure they could get away...and nothing else mattered.

"You're not going to worm your way out of this one Kaida. This is where you're going to die. And a fitting death for a common thief like you!" shouted Baraka.

"Sorry old buddy, but I always keep everything I steal." retorted Kaida.

David wondered what those two men's relationship had been like. But that was a fleeting, unnecessary thought at the moment. Suddenly, the Vampires came on again.

"Look out!" shouted Kei.

The string of lightning lasers zoomed above them, and David found himself nose low and upside down looking at another set of Vampires below. He felt trapped and he had find a way out of this mess. His Typhoon was pretty maneuverable and could keep up with these things. But the others were not going to be so lucky. That they kept up in this game of keep away was a remarkable indicator of everyone's skill level.

"I've got more enemies on radar!" said Cormorance.

"They look like bombers!" said Navarro, in the backseat of Kei's F-14 and reading the same data.

"Bombers?! Why are they bringing bombers here?!" said Fisch.

"Forget that?! What the hell are we going to do against them?!" shouted Grimm.

"This was supposed to be a secret mission...now we've got these monsters and enemy bombers?! What God did we piss off?!" Fisch continued.

"This is command, reinforcements will be at your position in six-seven minutes..." said Lucien Jackson over the radio.

"I don't think we have six minutes!" Kei shouted.

"Come on, Sasha...move it! Get the hell out of this place!" Kaida shouted over the radio.

Andrew Fisch, Ammon Kaida and company spoke for David Lovecraft's inner thoughts; and just when things couldn't get any worse...

_**Carbonne, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0610 hrs**_

"What's going on up there?!" said Xalia.

Everyone was in a panic now. Everyone was scrambling to get to vehicles, destroying documents, and packing up. She'd been woken up by Sasha in a bit of urgency. As she dragged herself upstairs from the basement where she slept...she found a chaotic scene. Tenenbaum was surrounded by dozens of his men, and Sasha was standing around.

Sasha walked up to her sister at the same time that Tenenbaum came to Sasha.

"We've got to get out of here! They've issued a Clean Sweep on this town!" said Tenenbaum.

"Wha...what?!" Sasha started.

"In the old days, when a major town was suspected of harboring anti-White Crow sympathizers the military would put it on martial law. Only in the most extreme cases where leaders or major insurgency was found would there be a Clean Sweep. This was partially due to the town itself being questionable in its loyalty to the White Crow. That was one of our jobs in Orchid. We arrested or interrogated anyone who was a suspect in any insurgency case. Of course, that technically meant everyone. But only when things got royally screwed was where a Clean Sweep was ordered." said Tenenbaum.

Sasha looked at him with a crooked, confused gaze.

"Can...I take a guess at what it really is?" she said.

"It means they're going to destroy this town...utterly. They're going to burn it to the ground." said Tenenbaum.

For the third time in several weeks, all the brain cells in Sasha's head exploded. Could things get any worse? Sasha expected to be the hunted...but now this entire town was slated for destruction?! All because they were doing the right thing? It didn't make any sense at all; then again...nothing made sense anymore.

"...what!? No...She can't..." Sasha stammered out.

"We've done it in the past; twice actually. Christos was only the first. Ironically, it is the site of the Dispater." said

"That sadistic little..." said Sasha, up in arms. "...well what are we waiting for?! Let's book before they get here!"

"Alright, Soma, you take the van with Mason and Wilson. Charlsie, you take the second car with the Xalia, third will be the armored tracker with Sasha and myself." said Tenenbaum turning to his men.

"Well, let's go...let's go man!" said the urgent, diminutive Charlsie.

Sasha shook her head in total disbelief as she went with the others. Things were becoming crazier by the minute. Xalia hugged her sister before she ran over with the people from the second car.

"Good luck." said Xalia, a rarity in length of words. She tended to be rather wordy at times like this. She kissed Sasha on the head before she ran off.

"Thanks." Sasha said in response, trying to force a smile. Then she hunkered down to the ground as she was nearly deafened by the sounds of rapidly flying jets overhead. The noises above were dangerously close and there was no guarantee any of them would survive this journey...but the only thing Sasha and the others could do was try. But they had to succeed because they couldn't afford to fail. Far too many lives were at stake.

_**Apporaching Carbonne, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0612 hrs**_

This was the last place Jaklyn Ors wanted to be. She didn't want to be up here at six in the morning with fog and dust in the skies. She didn't want to fly to some town in the sticks with no briefing or no chance to access the conditions or to even digest the entire situation. Most importantly of all, she didn't want to be up here without Ammon Kaida. The only thing she could do was what she always did: get in her plane and go fight on.

But this entire thing felt wrong. Nothing made sense anymore. For starters, the planes had been hastily outfitted with bombs. That was strange because the fact was the Allies were farther than a hundred miles away in this particular area. The last known ground engagement was currently going on...280 miles to the east of the squadron's contingent!

Speaking of contingent, the group that the raven haired beauty traveled with was rather large. There were the survivors from the Valuria, (Mendenhall, Othello, and company), along with Svengja and Valei Squadrons. Then there were a group of bombers to the rear...but at the time, Jaklyn was unaware of this fact.

"Captain, private channel..._now_." said Ganda with a sense of urgency.

Jaklyn was annoyed having to deal with the complaining motor-mouth that was Emmanuelle Ganda; however, for all her bitching...she had valid points eighty percent of the time. Thus, she never tuned her out. So she begrudgingly went to the secure channel so this woman could say her piece...and Jaklyn would have to tell her to shut her mouth for the 215th time.

"_What_ is it?" said an irritated Jaklyn.

"What are we doing here? What's the point of this mission? Why are we going to some front we don't even know about, much less with the battles already happening on the other side of the country?!"

"Stop complaining. We're still pilots and we've still got a job to do." said Jaklyn.

Jaklyn had only said that because she wanted Emmanuelle to shut up, but deep down...she knew Ganda had a point. Ors couldn't make herself admit it though.

"Then why do we have bombs? The Allied positions in this area are 150 miles away at best. They can't logistically move that far in one day!" said Ganda.

Jaklyn knew that she was right but she still...couldn't...quite...make her brain to get her mouth to openly question what was going on.

"Sorry to butt in, but...she's right. What gives? Does Command even know what it's doing anymore?" said Mendenhall.

Jaklyn let out a deep exhale and shook her head inside her cockpit.

"I don't think anyone knows what they're doing anymore." she said.

Jaklyn looked at the instruments of the F-16 she was in. Everything was normal and no one spoke for the longest time before, finally, Command came over the wire.

"This is Command. All fighters in the east area are to fly ahead and help Diabolos squadron secure the airspace over Carbonne." said the communication.

"Escorting bombers? Okay..." Mendenhall said, totally confused.

"Are there enemies in the area?" How many?" said Jaklyn.

"A contingent of enemy fighters, but that is all. Commence mission." the transmission said before fading out.

Then it hit Jaklyn like a sledgehammer that something truly bizarre was going on. They were being called to escort...bombers to a civilian town. There was nothing said about them landing there. They were only six or seven enemy planes in the area and that was all. For all Command's incompetence, it would not stand to reason to send bombers out, as vulnerable as they were, just for show. Command had sent the bombers there with intent; the obvious intent being to bomb something. And if there were no enemies on the ground...and only enemies in the air..and there was no Allied ground presence in the area...

The only logical deduction that Jaklyn could make...was that the town _itself_ was the target.

"Wait...you mean Carbonne is the target?!" she said out loud

"The orders are to escort the bombers to the town and that is all." said another of the pilots from one of the other squadrons they were traveling with.

Jaklyn dropped an f-bomb and her face told the story as it looked desperate beneath her helmet. She scanned the airwaves, but apparently Ganda was doing the same thing...and something caught her attention.

"But that is the target...wait...Captain...turn on Channel 5." said Emmanuelle.

Jaklyn did as Ganda had said, and she was shocked to hear what the communications were.

_What the hell do you think you're doing?_

_We have orders to destroy this town and all in it. Their treachery will be paid for by the blood of these people...blood that will be on your hands._

_The hell with that! Not if we have anything to say about it!_

_You and whose army Osean? You are the center of a vice that will close in on your lives...and as such your life will end in spectacular fashion._

"What the hell?" Jaklyn said to herself.

_What's the status of the attack?_

_Eight TU-160 and 8 B-52 bombers en route. They took forever to scramble but their escorts will be here before they arrive._

_Bastards! They're going to burn the city!_

_Have you lost your damn mind Baraka!? You're going to kill all these people because of us?_

Jaklyn nearly had a heart attack. But she didn't need to speak...as Othello did it for her.

"That voice...is that...Commander Kaida!?" said Othello.

Jaklyn was nearly breathless when she heard that. It was in fact the angelic voice of Ammon Kaida. But that voice also sounded desperate and angry; his voice was filled with a God fearing wrath of some kind. Then again, he couldn't fly the last time she checked. So why was he _here_ of all places?

_It's nothing personal, Ammon. It's strictly business; a deadly business that has no one but you to blame._

_And you wonder why I've abandoned this delusion you call a chance at victory? Get over yourself Molina. This is where our friendship ends...if I was even your friend. You call yourself an ace...but you're just like the rest of Diabalos and Portia, and our former leader, and your past heroes. You're nothing but murderers; devils in sheep's clothing._

"They're going to destroy the city?!" said Mendenhall.

"What!?" said Ganda, having heard the transmission. Then Jaklyn did something truly strange. Having listened and gained the information at hand, Jaklyn was going to find out what the hell was going on...one way or another. So she patched into the open channel and didn't give a care who heard it.

"Ammon...can you hear me?" Jaklyn said.

Jaklyn then wondered if all time had frozen when she said that. It was the longest few seconds of her life. That feeling only became more palpable when Ammon...actually responded over the open airwaves.

_...Jaklyn...is that you?!_

Then she heard other voices: the voices of Osean pilots.

_What, you know these people?_

_Wouldn't it stand to reason he'd know these people Fisch?_

"What's going on?! Why...what...why are you doing this!?" Jaklyn said.

"Ammon is a traitor...so is Sasha, Jaklyn. They're trying to turn over the plans to the Dispater to the Allies. We can't let that happen!?" said Baraka.

Jaklyn and the others recognized the voice as obviously being that of Baraka Molina. Jaklyn only met the man just days prior. Molina struck her as a man who focused on the mission and only that, blocking everything else out of his mind. While that was not a bad trait to have, Jaklyn believed that this man had turned such a thing into a science.

But the most horrifying of the revelations was that Ammon had turned traitor. How could this be? Jaklyn was confused and breathless...she could not bring herself to even speak.

" Jaklyn...listen to me! Everything we've fought for is a fraud! Our planes, our weapons, all of them were built on the bones of innocent people. They built the Dispater from slaves, innocent people! People who were murdered. All those so called prisoners from the old war were innocent people who were executed and imprisoned to make an example out of them. We're just pawns. We were all used. It was never about our freedom. It was never about unification. This entire war was just a pipe dream by William Masson and Portia. They dragged us into a war that we couldn't win, and now they're going to murder 50,000 people because of us!" Ammon shouted over the radio.

"What?!" Jaklyn shouted, breathing hard into her oxygen mask. She was almost hyperventilating.

"He's a liar! He's always been a liar and you know it. He's nothing but a coward." said Molina, countering the claim.

"What..." Jaklyn started. 'What' was all Jaklyn could manage to say at the moment. Jaklyn knew Kaida, even though it was mostly in the bedroom, but she knew enough about Kaida over ten years to know one thing: Kaida was no coward.

"Forget him...continue your mission. Make sure the bombers get to the city unscathed and this will be all over. They'll be at the target in five minutes. Be there and make sure they get to the target unscathed." said Molina.

Then, suddenly, the open line rang again. It was the Osean pilots again...and it looked like they were bringing some company to this crazy party.

_Reinforcements are on the way, they're 300 miles from us._

_We've got to hold them until they arrive!_

_But these Diabolos freaks and the bombers...how the hell are we going to do that?!_

Upon hearing this, Jaklyn realized she had a simple choice to make. Could she carry out her orders and finish the mission, go home and be honored? Or could she do what Kaida did, turn traitor and surrender and help the Allies end this war?

Apart from what she already knew, she knew Kaida had to be telling the truth. Kaida was no straight up liar and not even what he went through with Sasha was enough to make him have some kind of psychosis. He wasn't crazy. He knew him for over ten years; that couldn't be the case.

And even if he'd gone a little crazy...she couldn't do this! They were implying the destruction of an entire city based upon the actions of one man. Was this truly a rational act? No, it couldn't be! No rational leadership would do such a thing! Not even Yuktobania would do such a thing. All those people would have their lives extinguished. And if even if some of them knew...not everyone would. Jaklyn imagined that there would be some innocent family in that town, living in some quaint loft or shack somewhere that was asleep right now, ignorant of the entire situation...and High Command had issued their death warrants.

No...She couldn't do that. If Jaklyn allowed herself to participate in this, she'd never be able to live with it for the rest of her life. She'd probably end up taking her own life. Now she finally knew why so many soldiers killed themselves after the last war. What Kaida had learned was indeed the truth.

She would die before she had to live with that guilt.

"...no. Everyone...Keep those goddamned bombers away from our people." she said.

"What?!" she heard multiple voices said.

"I'm not going to be a party to this heinous crime! You can't murder a bunch of innocent people because of the actions of a few! It doesn't even make sense!" said Jaklyn.

Once David Lovecraft heard these words, suddenly whoever the hell this woman was suddenly qualified as one of the few rational people left in this country. But was it even worthy of praise at all? It wasn't right anyway. But Kei thought, _why should these people get credit for things they were supposed to do?_ This woman needed to convince herself this was wrong. But she did, so she guessed this woman deserved some praise.

"What?! You'd...you'd turn our backs on us now!" said another of the pilots.

"This is Svenga 1! We will not participate in this horrible act!" said that squadron's lead.

"Get back in formation! What are you doing?!" said another one of the pilots.

"We can't let them destroy the town for a few people!? Does that Portia even care about her own people anymore!?" replied the first pilot.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Baraka shouted.

"What's the point of fighting for people who want to destroy what we're protecting? It goes against everything we signed up for!" shouted Mendenhall.

"These people are traitors." interrupted Yancing, speaking for the first time, "They harbored terrorists and defectors. They deserve what they are going to receive! There is more than just conscience at stake!"

"Like what?! These scraps of this nation you're clinging onto? The remnants of a dead dream that was signed in blood?!" Kei shouted.

Jaklyn had already turned her fighter to engage one of these planes that were attacking the allies...the only problem was that IFF was a mess. So Jaklyn tried a strange trick that the late Sodel Josen taught her to jury-rig the system by reprogramming the coordinates and the signals inside the flight computer...and broadcast the new signal over to the squad. It was only able to work with fighters that were all of the same type...and Jaklyn's contingent were all F-16Cs.

Kaida was more than happy to see Jaklyn again. They could use her considerable skills, all things considered. Then again, he wanted to see her smiling face and her well-endowed..."gifts". But that was neither here nor there at the moment.

"Let's go! Let's stop these guys while we still have something to protect." said Othello Harem.

"Well, it looks like we just started the next Versuan Civil War." said Lillian.

Kei could have cried at what she saw...if she wasn't too busy dodging these bizarre enemy fighters.

"It's an honor to meet...legends. People who know what they're doing." said Emmanuelle.

"Oh, Emma, stop with the goddamn pandering...we haven't won yet!" Jaklyn hissed at Ganda.

That fact made Grimm laugh. He'd once entertained himself with such thoughts during the last war. Now it felt all too real now. Grimm was happy to see this happen again. He didn't think about his own mortality...but rather, the opportunity that had suddenly presented itself. However, if one thing went wrong...another was surely to go wrong later.

"Bombers ahead are dropping airborne tanks just north of the main road just outside of town!" shouted Lillian.

"We'll deal with them, give me a vector. Where are the people they were talking about?" said Mendenhall.

"120, go now! Keep the bombers and fighters off the northern part of the city...and everywhere else for that matter." said Kaida.

"Roger, Emmanuelle, let's go get em!" said Mendenhall.

"Let's take them!" Ganda said.

"This is Svenga, we'll deal with the bombers."

David was shocked at this display. In a matter of seconds, the entire strike force began fighting amongst itself. Everyone else was shocked as well. David even managed to take down

As for Valen Yancing...it didn't alter what he was planning to do. He had the weapons, the skills and the personnel to win this battle. A group of underachieving former allied pilots were not going to change things.

It was sheer chaos...but it was chaos everyone on the side of good could accept. This enemy formation had been a blessing in disguise. Now David hoped they'd show up in more than just appearance. David didn't realize it at the time...but he didn't need to worry about that part. What he should have been worried about was that big, bad tower in Christos. It hadn't shown its ugly head for some time...an unsettling amount of time. That was about to change...

_**Dispater Tower**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0617 hrs**_

Zorba stormed into the control room. She was extremely upset that a problem had arisen and felt her entire staff was incompetent for being unable to handle it. It was a simple attack on the town. A complete destruction of the town would have been an easy task for the Dispater, the only problem was that the weapon was not fully charged and she was not sure how charged it was. Firing the weapon while it was not 100 percent charged was extremely risky. Then again, it would have behooved her to ask about the problem before she made any assumptions.

"This is unacceptable! What's going on?!" she shouted.

"Doctor Zorba, the strike force is in chaos! Elements of the strike force are revolting! The Blackjack attack has fallen apart!" said one of the officers.

"_What?!_" Zorba shouted in her highest shrill voice.

"Groups of the attacking force are not complying with the orders, the entire operation is in jeopardy!" said another of the radar operators.

"We've confirmed that the seditious element has left the town. We can't get our forces in position. The rebelling units are preventing the attacking units from getting through." said the operator.

Zorba panicked. She had certainly changed her tune from before. She couldn't be charged with doing nothing in this crisis. Percival would never let her hear the end of it. He'd entrusted the Dispater's use to her when he left and she had to show up went it mattered...and now it meant everything. If those people were allowed to escape with the plans to their secret weapon...it would be the end of the White Crow. That was a cold, hard fact…and Zorba knew she was in a position to control Versua's fate.

"We have to eliminate that city. Prepare to fire!" she shouted. The main operator looked at Zorba as if she were nuts... a more than distinct possibility in her case.

"What?! The charge is only at 82 percent capacity!" he said to her.

"I don't care! That's still enough to fire!" Zorba spat back. Nervously, the operator turned back to his station.

"I can't make any promises, but...here goes. All stations: prepare the triangulation and signal transmissions..." he said with a breathless tone.

_**Skies Above Carbonne, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0620 hrs**_

Grimm had seen this twice before. He saw it seven years ago in both Sudentor and in the Ceres Osean; places where two countries came together to fight a common enemy and achieve a common goal. What Hans Grimm saw here was not only the chaos that it was, he saw something more. He saw the same thing he saw all those years ago when Osea and Yuktobania fought each other.

Grimm once held hatred in heart for these people. After all, their superweapon had killed so many Allied soldiers and even the Versuans' own soldiers and civilians. It had made the love of his life a cripple. That was reason enough to have no compassion for these people. But it was now that Hans Grimm realized that Lauren Weiss had been right all along. He realized his hate had been misplaced. Grimm knew that each man and woman who fought for Versua had joined for noble thoughts and aims. Now they were reduced to fighting for the scraps they had left.

They had been reduced to unwilling spectators in a macabre show of callousness by their leaders. They had been reduced to being unwilling spectators of this terrible strategy called the "scorched earth policy". Their leaders had ordered the burning of oil wells, the destruction of strip mines, burning of evacuated villagers, the execution of their surrendering kin, even the destruction of Disra itself. They deserved better of their leaders.

Now, in the face of their leader's terrible judgment, there were those who'd either grown tired of the empty promises of the White Crow, or would not participate in the senseless murder of over fifty thousand people, if not more. They would not follow those ridiculous orders. To do so would have been to validate everything that was wrong with this country. They could not bear to watch their loyal countrymen be slain for the vicious egos of the elite. To suggest the death of traitors was one thing: but to consider the thousands of innocent people in the town where they simply lived to be expendable...was unthinkable.

Now these brave few were doing what they were trained, and probably born, to do. They were protecting their homeland and their people from a ridiculous writ of execution based upon the actions of a few. Grimm knew that the rumors about Versua's leadership had to have been true. To so easily give an order of such brutal, heartless precision would have implied that something of this nature had been done _before_. It was clear that the White Crow's empire had been born for the sole purpose of using the people for their own power...and not to provide them with freedom and security.

Grimm knew that it brought many tears to the eyes of Kei Nagase, who was caught up in her own furious battle with these mysterious enemies.

It damn near brought tears to Grimm's eyes as well.

By now, the suddenly united group of planes had all but turned the tide against the enemy. The contingent of rebel forces on the ground were moving away from the city as they fought and were moving for the Allied lines. Soon, it would be all over; but the operative word was soon.

Grimm only entertained those thoughts for a mere minute has he found himself surrounded and hounded by these mysterious black Vampire planes. They might as well have been vampires as they were swarming all over the place, hungry for blood. But, Grimm knew why. After all, he'd blasted a group of enemy tanks that were bearing down on the position of the rebel convoy as pointed out by that Sasha broad...whoever the hell she was.

Grimm found himself being chased by the five remaining Vampires. The Vampires had been picked off one by one by the suddenly united group of planes. Most of them had been caught by mere surprise; most of them were in shock from the display of their own forces turning on them. It removed the idea that these new planes were invincible.

He decided to wisely put some distance between him and the convoy, lest they be zapped by their mini-rays of electrical death. He was at Angels 2 and descending fast. He opted out of going into the canyon since the remaining darkness would have made that far too precarious. There was really no way to counter their electrical weapons save dodging...and Grimm had done plenty of that in his career. He immediately pulled back up, turning back into the direction of Carbonne. He then witnessed the swirling savaging skirmish up ahead.

As he rocketed towards them, there was a sense of optimism in Grimm's heart. It had been a long time since he'd felt this way. The true reinforcements were only a few minutes away. The only thing they had to do now was keep the enemies off the convoy...which was a hard enough job as it was. But at least they had some help. Unfortunately, there was still one major cloud over it all...and the heavens were about to open with its wrath.

"What the hell? My radar's out! What..." shouted one of the Versuan pilots.

"Get out of there! Move it! They're going to drop their lighting rod right on top of us!" said Fisch.

"What?! No! They can't...what are they thinking?!" shouted Ganda.

"I thought it was down for repairs!" said Kaida.

"Go! Go, go, go, go! Get out of here!" Cormorance shouted with obvious urgency.

Grimm's heart went cold when he first heard the news. So he evaded in the opposing direction, just as the first bolts of purplish death rained down on the small, helpless city. Grimm couldn't believe it. They'd done the unthinkable.

Just as any sadness crept into his heart though...something else could be felt: nothingness. Grimm couldn't feel a thing...but he knew he'd been hit. His aircraft shook violently, but he couldn't feel it. He couldn't speak but he could think...and still he couldn't feel a thing. And the only thing he could think of was this: his plane had been fatally struck by that Dispater...and he was going to die.

But then...optimism filled his heart. Before it occurred, he heard the voices over the radio.

_Sasha...are you alright?! Talk to..._

_Don't worry! We're alright...we're...we lost two cars but we're still...we're still alive...you're breaking up!_

As Grimm's plane spiraled out of control, he smiled. There was still hope. Blaze and Edge always talked about hope in methods that were either mission statements or biblical dogma respectively. Grimm could see the flames in his cockpit and the rapidly approaching ground...but he could do nothing in response. He could only ride it out. His last thoughts were about Lauren. He seemed apologetic now. He wanted to tell her he loved her one more time. He wished he could have...but it was too late now.

_I'm sorry. I know you were right about this war. I'm sorry I let hate get in the way._

And that was all he had time to think about. His last thoughts were of Lauren...the last thing he heard was Kei screaming his name. With a violent impact, Hans Grimm's world went dark.

When Grimm's existence went dark, David Lovecraft's heart became cold and dark in its own way. Kei Nagase's heart became a shattered mess. Both of the wingman were right above Grimm when he was torn apart by the lighting death...and went spiraling into the ground.

When Blaze saw Grim go down...a piece of him died. It was just the extent that he felt when he saw his daughter die out in that cold sea...or when Chopper or Snow died. Something twisted in this man's heart. It was fury; a burning fury that filled his soul...the same fury he felt several times...when he was Blaze all those years ago. For many weeks, he'd been living a facade of a life as some alias that sounded made up and hokey. No longer.

There was no scream of agony that came from the mouth of Kei Nagase. There were no tears. There was only anger, revenge, and a burning desire beneath his skin to finish what he'd come here to do. He was no longer Jonathan Sosabee. He wasn't Dragon. His name was David Nicholas Lovecraft. He came from a broken family. His mother was killed by a street thug. He'd lost many friends in two terrible wars. He'd lost his own flesh and blood in a test of a weapon...the same weapon that had killed yet another friend. It was too much terror for his mask, his facade, his alias to hold.

He didn't cry or scream...he just turned back into the burning pilot that was once Blaze. Fury filled his heart for this country's leaders. They deserved better of their leaders. This was genocide plain and simple. It was nothing but callous murder for the validation of the White Crow's existence...and they were nothing but a corrupt, ruthless, despotic leadership who only wanted to save their own skins. It was too much. These people had to go.

David's first targets would be these Vampires. He was going to take each and everyone one of the remaining targets himself. It would be just like with those crimson and white Rafales of weeks prior. Because he fully intended to kill these men as they came here with the same intentions of killing these people...and he intended to enjoy killing these men; just as he'd done years ago with Grabacr and Ofnir. So Blaze poked through the skin and his hands took over as he turned right into the pack of enemy planes.

"Kei, cover me. I'm going to settle this unfinished business myself!" said an angry Blaze

Kei was shocked. Why would he say her real name now? But she supposed it didn't matter at this point. Kei struggled to keep her composure as the saline fluid from her eyes oozed all over her oxygen mask. Kei had once been an objector of war...but now she was happy to see her husband's self back. Kei then decided to make her own transformation.

"What the hell is he talking about?" said Navarro in the back seat.

"Okay...go! Do what you do best." Kei simply said.

David smiled and turned his attention to the planes in the center. They were still turning and fighting their newfound allies. God was irrelevant now. This was _personal_.

Meanwhile, Jaklyn was a bit away from Mendenhall's position, while Othello and company had located and were covering the contingent of rebels who were being savaged by ground forces. However, she was being pursued by one of those weird looking planes. Jaklyn was already distracted by the terrible reality of what had just occurred. All below her was the fires of destruction; the wake of Dispater's wrath. She fought to keep the tears out of her eyes as she fought with this damn freakish looking plane. But her F-16 against this advanced plane...was just death waiting to happen. Suddenly, she saw the rapidly approaching Typhoon that had done in three of the strange planes already. The pilot turned and went down...as if he were executing a Split-S turn, then flew above Jaklyn while in the process of upside down!

Jaklyn had _never_ seen that kind of flying before. No one else had either...because most of those who'd seen that kind of flying were dead.

Case in point...Valen Yancing. He'd never seen this before. For the first time in his life, he'd been surprised. All of the sudden, he saw a crazily flying Typhoon racing for him. Within a thousand feet, when he was just seen, he fired a Sidewinder right at Yancing. Jaklyn had been the hunted...now Yancing was the hunted...and now the prey. It was amazing how quickly the situation had turned. Of course, Valen only had a half a second to appreciate it...before his expensive, advanced airplane, and his own existence to be shattered and incinerated by the heat of a million suns.

Blaze had split the group apart and he turned to take another. He immediately turned and locked onto another quickly passing enemy plane, surprising him. Then, he did a high-G turn up and then down, twirling and leveling out right in front of a slowing, turning, and very surprised Jaklyn Ors. Blaze immediately and almost on pure extrasensory instinct, turned on a time to follow another one of the planes...eventually destroying it.

Jaklyn, upon witnessing this, knew exactly why these Deceivers were so damn impressive. Ammon Kaida and Baraka Molina knew first hand just how good...but it wasn't until now that the voluptuous Versuan pilot knew why. These men and women were not mere pilots...they were monsters. They were more than human. They were the incarnation of the idea of the superhuman. This man had taken out three of those bizarre looking planes in the span of _thirty seconds_.

"Holy crap...who the _hell_ is this guy?! He's a goddamned freak of nature!" Jaklyn said.

"Did...that just...did that just happen?!" said a very surprised Lillian Izzo.

Kei noticed something in this entire affair. The destruction of the city had enraged everyone. A devil had been born in each of them. The fangs came out once it was clear of their leader's callous and ruthless destruction of a city...for no reason than a few detractors. But her husband's freakish display of flying skills had galvanized everyone. Once they knew that the convoy was still moving was enough to inspire everyone.

Kei decided to unleash the Devil in her. It was the Devil which had plagued her since her daughter's death. The Devil she'd wanted to unleash for so long to invoke the wrath of Catherine. With no more lies and secrets...she became Edge again.

"Reinforcements are on the way...they'll be in our airspace in two minutes." said Comorance.

For those two minutes...the Allies, new and original, fought as one. They became like warrior poets, fighting with a oneness and a passion like no other. It was a bizarre mixture of hope and anger, outrage and revenge, pride and glory, sadness and redemption, and fury...viciousness and hate. Emotions were all over the map. It didn't matter who they were. They became each other...and in many ways had always been each other.

Ironically, Baraka Molina could call on no one, no inner spirit to keep up the fight. He'd abandoned his longtime wingmates Eldrich and Barus and the lot. He'd abandoned Mephisto to fight with Diabolos...and now it was no more. And worst of all...he couldn't get to Xalia.

_Xalia..._

He wanted to kill that woman so badly. He wanted to rip her vocal cords from her throat. But with a damaged plane and reinforcements on the way...he decided to cut his losses. He'd wait for her...and the Deceivers...and Kaida...at the Dispater Tower. It had been started here...it would end at Christos.

And just as dramatically at it began...it was over. Dozens of Allied planes showed up.

"Feier mia! What have they done?!" said the distinctive voice of Serena Batiste...not surprisingly shocked at what she saw.

"The city has been destroyed! How could they?!" said another one of the Allied pilots.

David paid no heed to it all. He sunk his head into the instrument panel and could not function.

"We're out of harm's way! Thank you for your help! We should be alright now." said Sasha over the radio.

"I can't believe it...we did it...we're alive." said Ganda.

"We got what we came for...but we sure paid a heavy price for it." said Fisch.

"_They_ did...we only lost Preston. That was bad enough." said Cormorance.

Cormorance Alou was a man who'd had enough of this war. All these people dead...so many friends dead for a woman and a group of rebels. He couldn't take it anymore. Cormorance wanted to personally hang each and every single member of the White Crow's leadership. Every night he wondered about Potenza and his little children being all alone because this asshole named William Masson had to have delusions of grandeur. He'd been dragged halfway around the world to some desert Hell to lose friends and allies for some egomaniacal man and his insane daughter.

David tried to cycle through his emotions. Grimm was gone; Archer was no more. Now Blaze and Edge were the last of the Razgriz from the last war.

"Hey, Incubus. Thanks." said David.

"No problem...you guys were freaking...freaks up here. It's us who should be thanking you Wardog 1."

David hesitated for a mere moment...but at this point...there was no denying who he really was. He owed it to Hans Grimm, William Snow, Alvin Davenport and most importantly, Kei Nagase.

"Incubus...call me Blaze." David said. "That's who I was back then...and there's no hiding from it anymore."

David smiled at his words...then looked at the darkness of night and the coming of morning. Kei then came along side of him and she looked right at him...but he did not look back. He did not say anything. Kei then turned back to the front and said nothing either. There were no more words needed to be said. David looked back at the burning city and kept his silence. But every extremity on David Lovecraft was shaking now. The silence told this sad and sordid story. That is until he could hear his wife crying over the radio. Now Blaze felt like crying as well...and it certainly would not have been out of the question given the terrible circumstances. Now Blaze once again wondered if God even existed in this land.

But at least there were people who had some soul. There was still hope for this splintered nation. But that hope would only go as far as their foolish leaders would take them; that told David the ultimate tragedy...was still yet to come.

_**Curasao, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0730 hrs**_

It was now the worst day of David Lovecraft's life. It had been a truly hollow victory. Despite the symbolism of everyone coming together to save the town...it had been doomed from the start. Now everyone wanted that weapon gone. Curasao was nothing more than a bunch of tents covered with multiple layers of infrared camouflage netting. The jammers were out in full force, though at this point, that was a tentative strategy. Though, what little that Sasha Masson knew about the Dispater indicated that any repeated attacks were almost impossible. David Lovecraft had turned thirty today...and he'd never felt worse. What he'd seen in Carbonne was beyond terrible...it was haunting to the core.

Wardog was vanishing before everyone's eyes. Michael, Paulo, Polly, and now Grimm were gone...and his death hurt most of all. Every morning before the day started, Grimm would call his love Lauren Weiss and talk, and talk...and talk, and talk, and talk...like most couples would. Though she was in a perpetual state of pain, she toughed it out for that man. Now he was gone...and when she called, a rarity, David knew she knew the terrible news. Grimm had a friend since Sand Island and Lauren, despite her bubbly personality, had been one for as long as Grimm courted her. Now it was all over...and that poor girl from Kansas was all alone in some makeshift medical center in Yuktobania.

So they spoke on a speaker phone; David struggled through the words, and Kei, who would jump into to pick up the slack, did as well. Perhaps he should have waited, but she called first. All three were an emotional wreck...but amazingly, this woman had a slightly more cerebral approach to it all.

"So...it was that tower." she said, "Him too...so many I've seen every day since I've been here. The wounded and the dead. It makes me throw up every day I see it. But it can't be helped until you and everyone else destroys that thing." began Lauren. Her voice was broken.

"Don't worry. We're going to bring it down tomorrow. As I'm sure Grimm would have wanted us to do without hesitation...even without him." said David.

"I hope he had no regrets...though I think he felt bad since he held all that hatred in his heart for the White Crow and this place. But I think he knew that Tower deserved all the hate. I hope at least. I wish I could have been there...I wish I could have told him I missed him again. But wishing never solved anything...did it?" said Lauren.

"I wanted to do more for him. I wanted to save him. We both did." said Kei.

"I'd never felt so helpless. I was just sitting up there and..." said David.

"No...I understand. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was the fault of some object...something soulless, made of steel and iron and alloys." said Weiss.

"No...People were behind it. People operated that weapon. It was just as much their fault as anything else." said Kei.

"But...I guess I should thank you. Thank you for being such a good friend to him...and me. I'll be fine...I'm the one who has to live with this...pain..." Lauren said, trailing off. Lauren was crying full bore now.

"No, you don't have to do this alone. You'll never be alone." said Kei.

"Yes, I am. I'm here in this little white room, sitting by myself...going over the bad news ad nauseam...and it makes me sick. But that burden is not yours. You've got to go on and live and destroy that thing before I see someone else being carted through here. But I thank you for your feelings. I'll carry them until the end. Goodbye." concluded Lauren.

And with that word...Lauren hung up the phone. That seemed extremely bizarre since Lauren never said "goodbye" when she finished talking on the phone. David and Kei exchanged saddened, but dumbfounded looks. David then shook his head and slumped back into the chair he sat in. However, just as he did...the tent flap opened and suddenly the diminutive form of Sasha Masson could be seen.

For someone who was in the middle of the desert, she looked rather nice with her white blouse and equally pale colored pleated dress, though the Versuan sand shoes were a bit out of place. Unlike what both Lovecraft and Nagase thought she'd look like, she did not sport any pearls or jewels. Even Kei had to admit she was a pretty woman, and her physique and demeanor seemed to light up a room...which was a difficult thing to do in this tent. Everyone was emotionally drained from the events in Carbonne...so many wasted lives for contraband intelligence. Even Sasha's bright form told the story. Though, she was not unscathed. There were a few band-Aids on her arms and blood was on her shirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry...I didn't meant to intrude." Sasha said.

"No, you're fine." said David shaking his head. "You're...Sasha right?"

"In the pretty flesh," she said, admitting she had a little vanity, "though I'm sorry about your loss. Ammon tells me you three were veterans of the last war up north."

"Yeah. It's a real claim to fame." said David sardonically. David looked at her coldly, a clear indicator of passive but small distrust.

"Do the others know about you?" she said.

"Not yet. We're going to explain it to them later...but at this point it's moot." said David. Sasha decided to change the subject to something else...but she didn't figure it was equally as touchy.

"That Clarke told me the reason you came here...and frankly...I don't blame your hate for us. I don't know what to make of your experience. So many people have already had to die for this weapon's existence. Why am I not surprised you were brought here because of it? But I am sorry for all the tragedy we've caused you." said Sasha. Kei exhaled deeply, drooping her head to the floor, and then raised it to meet the gaze of the Verusan woman.

"It's not you we're angry at. Its everything that weapon represents." said Kei.

"Well, with what I've brought you...I sincerely hope you can bring down my father's Ivory Tower. Until that happens, this will never end." said Sasha.

"Don't worry. We were all brought here because of it and we are all going to bring down that monster." said Kei putting a hand on Sasha shoulder. Sasha let out a long sigh then turned to leave the two of them in peace. Before the left though...she stopped, turned back and retrieved something from top.

"Here...take this. I heard that you had a particular affinity for this." said Sasha, handing the sitting Nagase a small disc.

"Do you always hid things in your top or...?" Kei asked her. Sasha let out a long chuckle.

"A UMD disc? What's this for?" asked David looking at the silvery disc. Suddenly, David let out a half chuckle when he saw the words "Face of the Coin" on it. It then became a full laugh and a smile. Sasha smiled back awkwardly, knowing that what had just happened brightened the mood of this dark morning. David never thought about his birthday until now...and this was no better gift. With that action, she'd helped keep a precious memory alive.

"I can't believe...you liked it too?" he said.

"Well, I'm not a prude...like so many assume you to be. What, a girl can't like a little rock music?" Sasha retorted.

"Thanks. And don't worry. We won't let you or your people down." said Kei.

Sasha said nothing, nodding her head and taking her leave from the tent. Sasha began to walk away and she ran right into Lucien Jackson. Sasha certainly had a bone to pick with this man. The electrical prodding incident with Xalia was none too acceptable to Sasha. But typical Sasha, she intended to handle this with a bit of class. After all, she'd negotiated her sister's freedom in exchange for the Dispater plans...it seemed only fair. David and Kei both peeked their heads out when they heard Lucien's voice. Kei thought it would be interesting to see what Sasha thought of this man.

"Before you say anything...I just wanted you to know that what happened in that prison cell...whatever...I don't blame you for it." said Sasha.

Lucien was caught a bit off guard. She certainly wasn't expecting her to start off with this. But, he shouldn't have been anyway. Certainly since that Xalia Masson had turned back up, Sasha may have heard about that incident. Of course, Lucien was unrepentant about his actions in his mind due to his inherent disdain for the Verusan people. But he would do well not to alienate this woman. Then again...Sasha was outlasted her usefulness anyway now that the Allies had the Dispater plans. So he decided to humor this woman.

"I understand that you have a difficult job. I understand that you sacrifice a lot because of your job and because of my father's actions. I understand your lack of frames of reference regarding culture; a culture that has never been and never will be the culture for which you make your sacrifices. I know your job cannot be about fairness or sympathy. You are a bottom-line, corporate-type of man...and I respect that. You have a dirty, nasty, but necessary job and as such, you have to take the responsibility and the burden for that job...and I respect that." she said.

"You're a bright young woman. Hell, we need more of your type in Osea. You are just...incredibly reasonable and level headed. The fact you can have your husband cheat on you and your country falling apart...and remain...reasonable is...nothing less than astonishing." replied Jackson.

"You...said something to my sister...something along the lines of being "even" or something? Right?" said Sasha, while laughing.

"I think I may have said something to that degree. Though I think the rationale was this opinion that some of your people believe they are holier-than-thou and have a right to believe that this hellish place has more culture than us...even though this land has been around for a thousand years. Yet it means nothing in the grand scheme of things." continued Jackson. But Sasha knew he was rambling and making up stuff.

Sasha's expressions turned from amused to stoic and cold so fast that Lucien was caught off guard.

"Well, that's where you're wrong. You see...this has nothing to do with me or my sister. So no...We're _not _even." she said.

Sasha then gave Lucien Jackson a swift knee to the groin. Suddenly, this aggressive and imposing six foot-something black man was at the feet of the diminutive Sasha Masson.

"_Now_...we're even." she said, smirking evilly and walking away.

David and Kei looked at each other after they looked at the cursing, prone, obviously-in-pain form of Lucien Jackson. Neither said anything to the other for a long minute. Kei then kissed her husband on the cheek.

"Happy birthday." Kei said, struggling to speak. It seemed so bizarre but a part of her could not help but find this amusing. And yet, nothing that occurred this day had given them any reason to smile.

"Thanks...you know...I think this Sasha chick is pretty damn cool." David said, struggling to crack a smile given the circumstances.

However, for Sasha, it would be an easy task gaining good graces here...except for one man: Cormorance Alou; a man who had no sympathy for this hellish land...and he wasn't the only one.

Next: Chapter 26: Schadenfreude


	26. Schadenfreude

Chapter 26: Schadenfreude

"_Dear Claude: This war has become more vicious and hate-filled by the day. The near we get to the Dispater and Ciudad the worse it gets. I hadn't expected it to be any other way...but facing the Versuan pilots in battle is truly terrifying! Their backs are against the wall, and they've got nowhere left to run as their country crumbles around them. The White Crow seem intent on destroying everything they possess just so can't control it. They seem content with keeping this horrible country as the bleeding wound it always was. It makes the bile rise from the back of my throat at this display of remorseless megalomania from their leader. However, my sympathy is running out for these people. - Serena Batiste_

They all waited. Time became like a blur in the night as the night turned to morning and everyone had to decide what their fate was going to be...and what they intended to do about it. Now that everyone had made their choices on the battle lines...now that they'd been drawn it was time to decide how to tackle their common goal.

_**Curasao, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0545 hrs**_

Kei Nagase waited for Judgment Day in her bed. That was what everyone was calling it now. Judgment Day…it would be the impending fall of the Dispater Tower once and for all. It had been one boring day of briefings and planning and now she slept.

Kei had been in on a rather interesting briefing session many hours earlier as Jackson and his men had gone over the plans and had laid out a basic strategy for attacking the weapon. There was no time for any intricate plans as the weapon was still an extremely lethal one...and one the enemy would use at a second's notice. It was mostly informal as the first draft of the plans had only been finished just minutes prior. By now, every participating squadron had their own battle plan and final preparations were being made. In a few hours, the Dispater Tower was coming down.

That fact made Kei Nagase excited. She'd come over to this barren, forsaken land and defied her morals, broke promises she'd made for herself and her ideals...just for the chance to bring down the weapon which killed her four year old child. Nagase had nightmares of that night back in October. She dreamed about being inside that terrible event...being unable to breathe. Seeing her child die in her dreams was as normal Moon's everyday tide.

But this dream was that briefing and that, in it of itself, was a major event. Wardog did their briefing at 1300. It was hard to do after losing Grimm and all those people in Carbonne. But command ordered an attack for the next day at 0800 sharp. There was no time to grieve. There was too much work to be done. Not even admitting the secrets to the other members of the squadron...seemed like a dead issue now.

_So what are we looking at here?_

_We're looking at a suicide mission. It's packed to the brim with all kinds of defenses._

_At least your father did something right._

Kei almost had to snicker when Sasha responded by merely scratching her nose in Cormorance's...with her _middle finger_.

_So what exactly powers this weapon?_

_The weapon itself, as I understand it, is powered by five different power plants. They are all nuclear power cores stored underground._

_Nuclear power! How in the world did they...?_

_My guess is by the design…I would say they cannibalized the cores from nuclear submarines._

_Ah, that makes a bit of sense._

_So, genius...what do we have to get through to destroy this thing?_

_There are three parts to the structure: the rock wall, superstructure and the inner Tower itself. The rock wall is merely that...a giant wall of rock twenty five stories high and about 600 feet above sea level. The superstructure is the man made metallic barrier about ten to twelve stories high. On it are eight anti-aircraft towers; four flak towers and four SAM towers. Inside the barrier is a massive amount of solar reflectors, satellite arrays, ECM jammers and X-9A module houses for shield generators._

_It's kind of like the Ajax and that giant flying monster over Disra._

_The satellite arrays are what broadcast the signal from the Dispater and extends its range. The hub is the Tower itself._

_The control room is beneath the Tower in a fortified bunker. I was there...and I never want to go back._

_The tower has the priority and once the other defenses are down...we can focus on taking out the tower from the middle down._

The interesting thing for Kei...was that while they were meeting over the weapon..._no one _brought up their true pasts again. It was as almost a non-issue at this point. Cormorance had other...concerns. That was when Cormorance and Sasha began shooting verbal barbs at each other. Cormorance had always been distrustful of this woman, or all the White Crow for that matter.

_Unless they have some new surprises they've added that this chick doesn't know about. Judging from previous experience...I am going to assume that is the case._

_What are you trying to say?_

_Forgive me for being a bit skeptical, you just showing up and all..._

_What, you don't trust me?_

_Well, I've always questioned people who get involved in issues...that don't seem to fit their involvement. I mean, you speak about the plight of the people...as if you've lived their lives. You haven't. You come here, dressed up in designer clothes and expect me to believe that's your true motive? _

_Hey man...we got something really valuable from this chick. We owe her...something but...you can't sit up here and talk shit about her just because you don't have any concern about what's going on except getting the hell out of this place!_

_Lillian, just do us all a favor and be quiet. So...Sasha...what stopped you from coming before? Wait a minute...I get it; you were winning the war back in November. Now January rolls around, you're __getting your asses kicked and you show up here. Forgive me for being a bit skeptical..._

_Do you not have a single compassionate bone in your body, Mr. Alou? These are your people too...as they are mine!_

_It's not that. If just the resistance had shown up, then I can buy their story. They were ordinary people. You...you weren't even educated here...and you expect me to believe this whole thing was because of that incident in Carbonne, as tragic as it may be? I mean you were inside the entire time...and know you find out about all this stuff about your father...stuff normal people have known for years? I find that hard to believe. And just for the record, your people are not my people. Osea is my home...not this place. I left this black hole of a land because I was lucky...and I stayed because I was smart enough to see what life was life over here...and what life was like here. I admit I'm selfish but I have too many other things to worry about. _

Then Cormorance turned to David. _You know David...your friend was right._

_What?_

_He said this place would never change when the war ended. It hasn't changed in a thousand years...why start now? Then there's another reason...I was on that cruise ship that was destroyed too! So needless to say, I'm here for payback too._

_What! You were a survivor of that!_

_Why didn't you tell us?_

_It wasn't important...I kept it secret for the same reasons you did. It's not an easy topic to discuss. So forgive me if I have a little resentment!_

_Regardless...people can change...I've seen it happen._

_People can't change as much as you think. Hell, money only amplifies problems. I will admit, I may have been a bit harsh...you are an exceptional person and you've done us a favor. I'm just a cynic by nature. I don't have time to be concerned about everyone...the truth is...my job is to kill people. And the truth is...people are who they are. Hell, ask your husband for crying out loud._

That line sharply divided the group. Fisch found it rather funny, slapping hands with Cormorance. Kei was shocked he'd go there and Lillian looked utterly offended. Sasha looked as if she'd been punched in the stomach. David wanted to punch Cormorance in the mouth...which would not have been a smart idea since Cormorance was much bigger, faster and stronger than David Lovecraft.

_Burn! Oh, oh...man...that was just low Captain._

_I can't believe you said that! Oh my God, that was just..._

_Hey, the truth hurts. Very few people truly change. People can change Sasha...but have you ever tried changing a culture? Yeah, you try that and see if you can do any better. Even in Versuan hoods in Osea...the culture of this land isn't all that different. They're just not in total poverty._

Kei saw Sasha's boil beneath her skin. In some hardened, callous precision, Cormorance Alou had an irrefutable point. After all, it was Alou who was forced to live the poverty, death-ridden life of the common people as a child. And again, Sasha resorted to playing the bigger woman in this case. She took a long time to compose her response.

_Look, I understand what you lived through. And it's far too easy for me to just throw a verbal grenade at you...but I understand you. The reason is you didn't live my life...and I haven't lived yours. Our frames of reference are different and they'll always be. I'm not a soldier, and I never will be. I understand that you people have your own families and concerns and this terrible, tragic event that has gone on far too long, not to mention needlessly murderous notwithstanding...has affected your...judgment and personalities on a level I cannot understand. But to suggest I cannot feel any empathy because of my bloodlines...is ludicrous and ignorant on a level that is staggering at this point in time. That can only come from the mouth of an irrational man because of the appalling environment and conditions he's found himself in. _

Sasha then approached Cormorance and put her hand on his shoulder.

_So I don't blame you for your opinions Mr. Alou. They are your opinions based upon what you've seen. While they are biased because of the allegiance for which you stand...I do not blame you for your thoughts. I suppose we can't all be lucky. We all have our motives, and I do appreciate your willingness to acknowledge your truth. Because I know you're __**not**__ the only one who thinks this way. We've both been through a lot...and we've both formed opinions based upon our experiences. So no...I don't blame you. I feel sorry for you._

And with that action, Sasha left the tent. And with that...Nagase broke the memories. She couldn't sleep anymore. She'd woken up an hour ago, and now she was looking at the clock at She shook her head and got out of the large sleeping bag she shared with her husband. She'd done it so many times she could do it without waking him up. She didn't need the extra hour of sleep. Adrenaline would fill her bones in a few hours. She was going up there as she did years ago, focused, totally committed, and hell bent on bringing that hellish monstrosity down.

She looked at the sleeping Sueltana. Yesterday was technically both her and Kei's husband's birthdays. David had wanted her to save her gift until after the Dispater went down. But just in case they did not come back, Kei bought Sueltana a rather pretty looking sun dress from a stand in Curaso. She felt the girl deserved it after years of living a day to day affair. But she hadn't tried it on yet, insisting that she'd save it for later. For what purpose escaped Kei at the moment, but she didn't think about it. Kei walked outside and saw the early morning's purplish darkness around the camp. It was a dead place...almost.

All of the sudden, she looked over and saw a trio of people sitting and talking on a sandy berm just outside the camp. It was Xalia Masson, Ammon Kaida and some woman named Jaklyn Ors. They'd been hamming it up for nearly half an hour before Kei Nagase approached them. Apparently, they were in the middle of some juicy story.

"So, about a year ago we're just sitting there and Dorian came up and started giving me hell about something..." began Kaida, but stopped once he noticed Kei approaching him.

"Oh, hello...Nagase right?" Ammon said. Kei shook her head.

"I'm just curious...how did you know about _us_? Was it Jackson's people or..." Kei asked the would be playboy.

"Magic and memories my dear." said the Versuan man.

"Of course, though I see why you missed the last war to mono." retorted Nagase, referring to him and this Jaklyn woman acting all lovey-dovey, though Kei was convinced they were probably dry humping each other before Kei showed up. Whatever the hell was going on between Sasha and Ammon was beyond Kei's knowledge.

"Charmed to say the least." Kaida responded.

"What are you guys doing out here so early anyway?" Kei asked him.

"We're just taking it in. No sleep to the Dispater. We can bring this whole thing to an end and we can all go back and live in peace, smoke our cigars, drink our alcohol, listen to our music, sleep with our significant others..." Kaida rambled on.

"Ammon, you did all that yesterday!" said Xalia. Kaida's face looked twisted in confusion.

"Uh...uh...well..." said an embarrassed Kaida. Jaklyn was blushing so much her entire face had the same complexion as a red apple...though it was hard to see.

Kei laughed for the first time what felt like forever.

"To think that a week ago...I'd probably hate your guts but...you people aren't that much different from us." she said.

"Look, I know what happened." said Kaida, having learned the entire story, "That was just sick. That was as bad as the things I found out about what went down before all this started. If only you knew what measures the White Crow took to build that Dispater...it'd make you shake in your sleep."

"But...you know, the truth is...we are different from you. We're not like your people. We'll never be...and that's fine. If we're all the same...the world is a boring place." Jaklyn added. Kei was incredulous. These people deserved better than the lives they'd been forced to lead and the cards they'd been dealt.

"You deserve better of this place! Your people don't deserve to be exploited by oil companies and corporations!" Kei shouted.

"You know what...it doesn't really matter." said Kaida, nonchalantly. "What difference does it make in the end? Will things be better...maybe? At least there won't be any more death. I didn't mind it when I was ignorant of the truth...but now it just scares me. All the people that gave their lives and had their lives taken away because of the White Crow; it invalidated everything we stood for."

"Besides...what can we do about it? We're just soldiers. We did what we could...but in the end...it didn't matter all that much. I just wished we could have saved those people in Carbonne." said Xalia.

"The only thing we can do is destroy that monster and end it all for good." Kei said shaking her head and not forgetting the real reason they were all there.

"And the only thing we can do is do what we can." said Xalia. Kei turned to her in surprise. Kei had said that statement several times in the last war. But how did she know...unless...

"...well, Kaida told me about that quote years ago...and here I am telling it to you." continued Xalia.

"You said it in Heirlark in front of a bunch of other pilots...you just didn't know I was one of them. And now, something you used to say is being repeated to you all these years later in some desert in the middle of nowhere. If that's not irony...I don't know what is." said Kaida.

Kei laughed again. It was a strange type of tonic...something that calmed the rage in her soul. Xalia started laughing too. Xalia began to pull her closer to her as if she was trying to hug Nagase...as if they'd been friends for a long time. Kei accepted the affection having realized that this woman was no longer the enemy.

"What was he like?" Kei asked Xalia, knowing about her reputation. "Your squad leader…what was he like?"

"...I don't want to talk too much about it. He was a good man...but his heart was in the wrong place. It seemed as if war had consumed it and I couldn't allow myself to be consumed with obsession for your husband's blood...much less war. And we drifted apart because of it. There would be days he wouldn't talk to me. He'd be in this silent world where everything was a mission...and he'd leave me out of his world. But after a long time of thinking...I realize that it wasn't his fault. War did this to him. It tore us apart. My father's actions tore us apart. Now, I have to consider him an enemy. Believe me; I want that weapon gone as much as you do. It tore us apart and for that...I can never forgive my father or his men." said Xalia.

Kei brought her head over to her shoulder and Xalia accepted it before finally pulling away sometime later. Kei thought she saw a tear or two in those fluttering blue eyes of Xalia. Women were usually more affectionate to each other anyway and Kei could never comprehend what this woman's life must have been like as the only person she cared about was distancing himself away from her. That was what Kei hated most about war. It tore so many loved ones apart. Kei could never imagine how she would have gotten through this without her own husband by her side on the ground and in the air. It was then that Nagase realized that David had been right to take her to task for her hatred that could have torn them apart. He knew all too well that fact.

Deep down, Kei thought that Cormorance, the_ Assassin_, hated war too. It tore him away from his own wife Potenza, a rather sweet woman she finally saw for the first time...albeit over a web-cam from a communications tent in the rear. He never talked about his family much, but it was clear that his hate and his pain over this separation from his wife and his kids were a motivation for his skills and passion for doing his job at the highest possible level.

"Here, have a drink." Xalia said giving Kei a bottle of brownish liquid. Kei recoiled in a bit of disgust.

"Um...I don't drink." Kei said, turning it down. Xalia laughed and shook her head.

"Well, are you an android or something? Because this isn't alcohol; this is some local...soda stuff. I don't know what the hell it is, but it's pretty damn good." said Xalia. Kei relented and took the bottle. She nervously drank the fluid...and it was best thing Kei had ever drunk in her life.

"To victory...life or death." said Ammon holding his bottle high. Kei did it with a bit of nervousness...but she joined in as well.

As the four touched bottles, they looked into the distance as the rising sun had yet to peek its head over the distant hills. Suddenly, Xalia looked to her left...and saw several strange looking flashes in the distance.

"What was that?" asked Jaklyn.

Kei looked in the same direction and saw it too. Her eyes bulged upon seeing this her heart rate went up and she began to breathe much harder.

"Oh no...Have those bastards have done it again?" Kei said under her breath. She couldn't be sure at the moment...but she didn't realize she was right.

_**Basra, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0620 hrs**_

Rue Daydenko waited for Judgment Day. Rather, she was not waiting...she was just laying there underneath a pile of rubble. At first, she couldn't tell if she was alive or dead. Her hearing was a bit muffled, but she could hear the distant voices. She could hear screams. Rue thought back on what had occurred. It was a simple affair. She'd been enjoying the peaceful life ever since the Allies had liberated the city. For the most part, the Allies had behaved in a rather magnanimous fashion. That was good enough for Rue as they arrested and cracked down on White Crow sympathizers. The old toxin of the past had been wiped away and a new era was going to be born. The most exciting thing was that her son, Gio, would be able to grow up in a peaceful era with no need to look over his shoulder.

But for that dream to occur...the war had to end. And just when Rue thought the war was over it came back to Basra...compliments of the Dispater Tower's unimaginable power. Rue and her husband were just staying over a friend's home since her apartment had taken some battle damage. Carmone had left an hour earlier as he was helping the Southern Alliance members with sort of a "watch" program. Then it all went to hell. It felt like an earthquake hit the city...and then everything felt. There was intense heat...and yet...Rue was still alive.

_Are you alright ma'am! Talk to me!_

_Let me through...she's in there!_

_You know this woman?_

_She's my wife! She was just supposed to...I mean..._

Rue breathed a sigh of relief...she could hear her husband's voice. But now she was frantic...where was her son? Where was Gio?

_Okay, calm down sir. You two come with me. Get a medic over here now!_

_What the hell happened!_

_I don't know sir! We got hit by that lighting stuff! Took out the whole downtown!_

_Where were the jammers! _

_I don't know...it must have been a malfunction or something!_

Rue could hear debris being cleared and several men with flashlights approaching her. Several were Allied soldiers. One was a man that Rue had never seen, but she almost lit up when she saw Carmone. But, there was one concern and only one concern on her mind on a certain five year old boy.

"Where...is...where's my son?" Rue struggled to get out as she was lifted up from her position. Rue's head was killing her. She didn't realize that she was bleeding from her head.

"Anything else? Anyone down there alive?" said one of the Allied soldiers.

"There's nothing but bodies down there sir! There's got to be at least a dozen or so." said another Allied soldiers.

Rue started freaking out. She tried to tear herself from the embrace of the men

"Gio! What happened to my son!" she shouted, before she was restrained by one of soldiers.

"Calm down miss...we're going to get you out of here. We're going to find your son." said the soldier.

Rue was sat down on what appeared to be a stretcher and her mind was racing. What happened to her dear son? Was he dead? She had to find out. Then...as her head was being bandaged...she saw the unthinkable. She saw a hand underneath a pile of rubble. The hand was small...and it was holding something. It was a small armlet; a small toy...a gift...she gave to her son only days ago. Rue lost all her breath. She started to hyperventilate...and if she'd started freaking out just a minute ago...no one had seen anything else.

"No! No!" she screamed, fully tearing herself away from the embrace of the medics.

"Get her back!" said one of the guards. Rue began tearing away to the debris and to her eternal horror she saw the mangled remains of her flesh and blood. She screamed bloody murder. However, she did most of the screaming in her own mind.

"Gio!" she shouted with a force in her voice like no other.

Rue still ignored the bleeding head wound she had. She tried to reach the burned, yet unmistakable corpse of her beloved son. She was still being held back by the Allied soldiers, and yet none of them were a match for this woman's saddened strength. Carmone tried to intervene, but he was kept in check by the few soldiers there. But they couldn't hold back Rue Daydenko.

To Rue's eternal credit and unlike her late sister Dorian, she possessed a passion for someone else other than herself. Something dear to her had been torn away...and they were not going to deny her hollow chance to say hold and goodbye to her son...even if he was a soulless, mangled being now. It took six men to drag her away from the scene. For Rue, she was drowning in another sea of destruction and regret, tears and ruined lives.

_**Casta van Veranna**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0650 hrs**_

Portia Masson waited for Judgment Day inside her fortress home. She was shaking her head, downing cups of coffee and was generally on edge as all kinds of bizarre situations, Sasha's escape notwithstanding, was going on as the Allies were planning for an inevitable attack on their weapon. She was on a speaker phone with Praeten Percival who was on his way back from the Demogorgon while in a meeting with Teslat and General Ignis. If it was one thing for Portia it was another.

"We've got problems. I think Zorba's lost her damn mind. She was launching the Dispater at Disra, San Ava and Kymaree! I left her in charge of the weapon...but now she's just blasting away at anything under the sun!" said Percival.

"Okay, what the hell is Zorba thinking! She's doing all this...and you _think _she's lost her mind sir!" replied Teslat.

"Well, I don't care about Basra. I'm concerned about the Tower itself. Can it hold off a major Allied Attack?" said Portia.

"As far as we can tell it can withstand several attacks from enemy Alpha Strikes. But Zorba is already wearing it out. If we're forced to go strictly on defenses, we'd be more vulnerable...but not entirely exposed. We've planned for this." Percival continued.

"And should this contingency fail?" Ignis asked.

There was a long pause.

"We'll destroy the weapon...and the Allies along with it." said Percival.

"How effective would that option be?" asked Portia.

"Well, let just say they'll feel it in Gracemeria. Are there anymore questions Madam?" said Percival.

"No...and Percival...good luck." said Portia.

"Thank you. Good luck to you as well." said Percival after a pause.

With those words, Percival hung up the phone. Portia turned to the men in her office. Teslat looked extremely worried but Ignis was still stoic as always.

"Well, this is it gentlemen. I don't want to think about what's going to happen if we lose that weapon." said a rarely melancholy Portia.

"Funny, I never took you for the sentimental type. You never had regrets." said Ignis caustically.

"No...The only thing we can do is face the future with the same cold-hearted stoicism as soldiers do." said Portia.

"Oh, I'm thinking about the future all right. If we lose, it's all over. We'll be killed or worse...prisoners of war! We'd be tried and sent to prison for decades...or worse...be hanged by every bleeding-heart rebel in the country!" Teslat said in a panic.

"Well, we have to make sure that at the very least...that does not happen even if we lose." said Ignis.

Portia said nothing and looked outside the window. In the distance, the battle to decide her nation's fate was about to take place. But there were no regrets from Portia about her decadent, murderous life. There was only the wish that she could have done more.

_**Curasao, Versua**_

_**January 8, 2017**_

_**0700 hrs**_

Lucien Jackson did not need to wait for Judgment Day. It was already here. Jackson had only had a catnap before this meeting with Tenenbaum and his men. They'd served Section Seven well in this land and now it was time to close things for good. He was simply to meet with them on the far side of the base, far away from the tents where the pilots made their home. It was to be a quite, secluded meeting of the utmost importance at a warehouse just outside the city. Unfortunately, Tenenbaum, like he always did, had other plans. That was the only frustrating working with Carlon Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum had his own ideas for everything in his quest for revenge against the White Crow, and his ideas usually got people killed.

Now, the resistance was of no use to Lucien or Section Seven now.

But in this case, Tenenbaum had done something even more outrageous. Now he was actively involving Sasha Masson in his plans. To make things worse, Sasha was now with the rebels at the meeting site! Jackson and Clarke knew what Tenenbaum was: a serial killer by technicality. Now Lucien knew he had to deal with Tenenbaum and fast...because if he were gain any more momentum...all of the Cohen Administration's plans for Versua and the future would be in trouble.

Lucien had heard about the attack on Disra and Kymaree some time ago. However, Tenenbaum and his men were a more important issue. Apparently, the Versuans were still desperate to destroy this group of traitors...logically assuming they would be up north, way behind the Allied front line. Yet no one on base knew about the attack, as per Lucien's orders. He didn't want to affect morale or stir up an uproar when secrecy was paramount. The Leviticus jammers were going full bore now, and it was nearly time to carry out the attack. But his damn Carlo and his baggage had to be dealt with first...

"Ah, Mr. Jackson...we've had quite the chat among ourselves...and we are very concerned about the future of this nation should the war end. The land would be in chaos. We cannot a vacuum of power so we are willing to endorse Sasha as our new leader...a smooth, seamless transition. She's she safest bet and she'd have the support of the people." said Tenenbaum.

Lucien raised an eyebrow. Was he joking? He was suggesting that a group of ultraconservative insurgents would endorse a member of the Masson family for control of this country? Jackson thought,_ was he serious_? Did he had the gall to believe Osea, much less the Yukes or those frogs from Sotoa would allow this; terrorists endorsing their _own_ leader? Granted, Sasha was nothing like her father or Portia: she was not insane. Lucien just shook his head in disbelief at the embarrassing and deluded impertinence of such an assumption.

Did he honestly think...the Osean Federation was stupid enough to allow a bunch of uneducated insurgents, most of whom were ex-White Crow, to rebuild this poverty-ridden country...by using a twenty-two year old woman who had no realistic political pull at all?

"That is...quite an interesting plan..." said Lucien rather nervously. "Excuse me one second."

Jackson took out his cell phone as it rung in his pocket. He walked away, Tenenbaum respectfully not following. It was Mary Cohen.

"Madam President..." said Jackson.

_So I understand the attack is all prepared._

"Yes. We're attacking in two hours. Now, what about the defectors?" said Jackson.

_Hmm...I'm not sure..._

"Wait, before you say anything else...you're going to love this. Tenenbaum has the guts to say to me that he wants to endorse Sasha Masson as the new leader of this country when the war's over."

_...you're serious right? He said that? I don't know...if I should be pissed off...or laughing my ass off._

"Believe me, it took a lot of self-discipline not to the latter. So how do you want it done?"

_Get rid of them. We have no use for them anymore. I could care less what happens to this country. Keeping it divided will keep the world at peace. Tenenbaum has his own plans...and no one at this point needs anymore problems from that man or his insurgency. Let their people deal with it when we're gone._

"...and Sasha?"

_We're not going to do anything to her. She brought us the plans...it's the least we can do. Keep her personal entourage, if you will...in one piece. I'm counting on you to take care of the mess Lucien. Anything happens and it's your ass._

"Consider it already done Mrs. Cohen. Oh, and tell Micah that I said hello. That son of a gun still owes me money for that bet, you know." Jackson said with a coy smile, referring to the President's husband.

_I guess he's glad the war's going on...the longer the time you're away from him the better._

Lucien let out a laugh before quickly turning serious again. "Now...to take care of business."

Lucien hung up the phone and walked over to the group gathered at the back of the warehouse. Tenenbaum, Sasha and company said nothing as he did. As Lucien walked towards the group, he pointed his index finger in the direction of several black SUVs gathered on the other side of the warehouse. Sasha could have sworn she'd seen movement in the tinted silhouettes...but dismissed it as Lucien directly approached her.

"Sasha, can I have a word with you?" said Lucien, taking her by the shoulder. Sasha was a bit confused, but she went along with him anyway.

"Is this about the incident earlier? I thought we'd gotten past that." asked Sasha.

"Oh, no that's all water under the bridge." said Lucien.

Soon, Lucien had walked her about thirty five to forty feet from the group. Jackson took her hand off her shoulder...and pulled a rather interesting and slick sleight of hand...by suddenly grabbing the hands of a suddenly frightened Sasha Masson and fixing a pair of handcuffs to them. Tenenbaum prepared to react in their direction...but he didn't see the simultaneous emergence of a dozen black clad, silenced machine gun toting men from the black SUVs Tenenbaum now found himself with his back to; he didn't even see it coming.

Sasha didn't even scream for help...her brain had locked up as he saw nearly a dozen armed men mow down Tenenbaum and his lieutenants. They did it in the most disgraceful manner by shooting them in the back; a literal backstabbing representative of a sudden betrayal by Lucien Jackson and the Allies. As Sasha Masson could find no words to say to this horror, she realized that she'd exchanged one hell for another. It was clear the Allies Special Operations held no more love for them than Portia did. Sasha then realized that perhaps everyone had outlasted their usefulness. She was almost hyperventilating when the macabre scene was finished; but she couldn't even try to say something until one of the mortally wounded men was finished off by a burst of fire from a silenced MP5.

"Well, that was certainly entertaining." said Lucien still holding Sasha by the cuffs. He then kicked her feet out from under her and she fell, her head slamming into the pavement, but enough to break any skin.

"Now we're even." said Jackson, referring to her kick to his mid-section.

"I can see that you are at a loss for words. So allow me to answer your questions." he said, pulling her up by the cuffs and standing her on her knees. But as the guards approached, he waved them off and they continued to gather the bodies of the dozen men who'd been gunned down, Tenenbaum included.

"We've worked with Tenenbaum for years, as you know. But we never trusted that guy...I mean...look at his track record. He's done his fair share of killing. We just did this country a favor now that I think about it. We had no intention of allowing his Southern Alliance to control this country in any ordinary fashion." said Jackson. Jackson then walked around to face the shocked Sasha.

"It's nothing personal against you. I'm not here to judge or prosecute your actions. But you were a mere X-Factor. We were going to get rid of this guy regardless. But, your actions deserve to be rewarded. We can cut down on casualties and we can end the war quicker. As such, we have no choice but to detain you until the war is over. As soon as your friends return, they will also be interned. Then you'll be placed under the protection of the State Department and then you'll be free to go." said Jackson.

Sasha was shaking at this point. She still had a difficult time forming words. Finally, she took all the remaining energy she still possessed, and composed the first words.

"This...is the thanks we get...to be treated like prisoners? And...what are we going to do? What is going to happen to this place? What are you thinking! This place will be nothing but anarchy and..." Sasha said, shaking her head and her eyes constantly darting around as if she was looking for somewhat, anyway out of this mess.

"Exactly. That's exactly what were planning." interrupted Jackson.

Sasha's eyes bulged. "What!" she shouted, almost with tears in her eyes.

"The truth is...the original war plan was to keep this country the way it was before the White Crow emerged. We've been trying to curb the growth of your father's regime for years. My predecessors knew what was going to happen when this land became united. Our special forces have made a living of rogue countries fighting among themselves for nearly fifty years. Your land was no different. For forty years_, we_ were the ones who kept this place divided. But those damn liberals screwed everything up after the Belkan War. They screwed up and your father was a free man. Thus, we're here. We're paying for the mistakes the liberals made back then." said Jackson angrily.

"You mean...this whole war is some political vendetta?" Sasha asked.

"It wasn't intended to be this way. Your father forced our hand by being an idiot and challenging us. Our intentions were to keep the status quo. That is our job. We benefit from rogue countries in civil war; less wars we have to fight. The wars that never happen to us...are the ways we count our success. And that is the basis of my job. So, when the war's over...we'll pull out the troops and we let this land's people fend for themselves. There was a reason this place has been a hell hole for nearly a thousand years. This country is far too backwards to correct...and its culture won't allow it because of a generational institution to change. What's the _point_ of helping your people? They'll turn on each other just as quick as they'd turn on your father...or us for that matter." said Jackson.

Sasha felt a boiling rage beneath her...but before she could check herself she blew her top and exploded at Jackson...forgetting she was still manacled by the handcuffs. She fell, in embarrassing fashion, but still shouted in rage at this conniving man named Lucien Jackson.

"You selfish callous pig! You're no better than they are!" said Sasha. Lucien didn't even break poise.

"You mean your sister...your father. You may call it schadenfreude if you will, but...it's a necessary one. We have to deal with insane rulers...and we have to deal with other insane men, like Tenenbaum, who are the enemies of our enemies. It's just standard operating procedure. It's a cold hard fact of Black Ops...and you are the biggest hypocrite there is Sasha! You being angry at his callousness is like a millionaire being mad at a billionaire for being a billionaire. You've lived your entire life in luxury. Why should I buy your arguments? You haven't lived the lives these people have...the same people you grieved for when your father was tear-assing around the world. It's too easy to be altruistic when you have to be." said Jackson.

"I can't have any compassion because I didn't live these people's lives? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life!" Sasha angrily responded.

"Perhaps...but the truth is this: we're making the rules now. And we got rid of him...so you would have no pull. You don't have a leg to stand on now. Just be glad you wound up on our side. Consider this a favor from me." Jackson said turning away from her. After a short he pause he said, "Take her away."

Sasha snarled. There was hatred beneath her skin that boiled like magma. But, she had no choice...as she was taken, rather dragged, by the guards and put into one of the SUVs. But before she allowed herself to be forced into the vehicle...

"You're taking me and the others to safety...how do I know I can trust you?" asked Sasha.

"I told you the truth didn't I? Isn't that not good enough?" said Jackson.

Sasha hung her head in defeat. It was clear that she'd been a pawn all along...and there was nothing she could do now. But at least this would have an end.

"Thanks to you I can't even trust people I thought I'd end up respecting. I hope you're happy." she said as the door closed. Lucien then turned to a trio of guards and began issuing instructions.

"Take her to Vastos. If Xalia or her better half asks anything, tell them she got sick or something. Have your men in place to detain all the Versuans upon return. When they return, I also want Lovecraft and Nagase sequestered in the Command Room until I arrive. And tell Clarke I want a copy of the full BDA(Battle Damage Assessment) report from the Dispater once it's destroyed." said Jackson.

"Yes sir." they said.

Jackson was then filled with a burst of energy he hadn't had for years. He pointed to the tent city just outside the warehouse. He was almost dancing.

"Okay, wake them up! It's Showtime baby! Let's wrap this up!" said Jackson.

_**Curasao, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0700 hrs**_

David Lovecraft did not need to wait for Judgement Day. It was already here. Kei had already left the tent and was talking to people some distance away. David had not reflected the night before on what occurred the day prior. He knew exactly what he had to do. He knew exactly what he needed to do...what he came to this distant land to do.

As he turned though, he suddenly found himself looking at Sueltana Devia. But her looks were in a stark contrast from the first time they met each other. The first time they met, she was a homeless kid hiding out behind their makeshift base in Yuktobania. How times had changed in all these weeks. That was back when Michael and Paulo were still alive. David and Kei were flying different aircraft and they had no idea who the Versuans really were. Sueltana was just kid trying to stay alive.

Now she was in the pretty white sun dress Kei had given her for birthday with makeup she'd pilfered off the girls of Wardog over the past few weeks. David had to resist the urge to laugh...not because the scene was humorous, but because it exuded a great felicity to it all. And yet, it was saddening. What if he died? He'd never see this again. So he took it all in now while he could. Therein lay the irony of it all: David never thought about dying until now. He'd go up in the air without any fear of death. Initially when he started fighting in combat again...it was mere hesitation from years of civilian life. Now it was a fear of death...but he pushed those thoughts out of his mind as he smiled at the seemingly mixed emotion-filled girl in front of him.

"Okay, well someone certainly knows how to get dressed up for Armageddon." he said. David then twisted his facial expression in his own confusion as to why he even said that. Sueltana surely was confused herself, judging from her jaw drooping down her face.

"Arma-what?" she said.

David shook his head in reference to his words. He then turned his language to Sueltana's new white sun dress.

"Nevermind. That is a very pretty dress. It looks better on you than I thought it would. Though I don't think the desert is the right place for it." David continued.

"Every time my father would leave for days we'd go the airports or we'd go on long trips, we'd always dress up. We wanted to look the best before all those things." said Sueltana, her trailing words appearing melancholy.

It was no secret that Wardog had been the closest thing that this kid had to a family in years. It was clear she still missed her old family, but she'd probably accepted it by now.

"Well, I guess you're going to have to take Polly's spot in the squadron if you're dressed up like this."

"No...I'll be fine." said Sueltana while laughing.

"You've come to see me off...right?" David said.

Sueltana nodded her head and smiled with all the innocence in the world. Perhaps she really was what Paulo described her. She looked like a young adult in a pre-teen's body that seemed younger than it actually was. Then again, there was one major issue. He still hadn't told her the truth about who he and Kei really were. Kei had wanted to wait until after this operation was over...but David couldn't wait any longer.

"Sueltana...sit down for a minute. There's something I want you to know."

There was a chair right in front of their tent. Sueltana sat down in the chair and David sat down on the sand in front of her. There was a long period of silence between the two.

"Look, I...I wanted to wait until I said this. But...the truth is...I'm not really Jonathan. That's not my name and Ava is not Ava's real name." said David.

"What!" Sueltana shouted.

"No, it's just an alias...a made up name. The truth is my name is David and Ava is Kei. We had to use fake names because in the last war...we were famous for all the wrong reasons."

"You mean...?" Sueltana started.

"We fought in the war back then...we fought on this side back when Yuktobania and Osea hated each other. It's a lot more complicated than that..." David continued.

"Then why did you come over here?" Sueltana asked.

"We came here...because that machine...that one that's destroyed whole cities...almost killed us...killed our little girl. She was only four years old. We used to hate war a long time ago...but we came here to make sure that weapon is gone for good. I'm sorry I had to lie to you all these weeks...but since our secret is out among the others...I couldn't hold it from you any longer." David said.

Sueltana said nothing...but her facial expressions did not change much. She looked away for a long moment, and looked back at him. By now, David had stood up and looked at her.

"I'm really sorry. I am...but we had to do it. We had no other choice." David added.

"What's going to happen when it's gone?" Sueltana asked, looking up at David's standing form.

David raised an eyebrow. Was she serious? Had she forgotten the entire story? Did she really instantly forgive him for lying to her all this time? Or was she really more concerned about the future than the past?

"You mean...you're not mad at me for lying to you?" David asked.

Sueltana only shook her head, "no"...and David cracked a small smile.

"I don't know what's going to happen. I guess...the war will be over and we can go home." said David. Suddenly, Sueltana's face became long and depressed.

"Where I am I going to go home? I don't...have a home anymore. You guys have been my home...and I don't have anywhere to go." she said, almost to the point of tears.

David didn't even hesitate. He'd wanted to ask this for a long time.

"Do you want to come home with us?" he asked. Sueltana looked as if someone had rearranged the items on her face, her visage was that twisted in surprise.

"Wha...what...you..."

"We've got this wonderful home in this place in..." said David. But Sueltana cut him off.

"Can I really come with you?" she said. Her voice did not seem like a child's voice. Her voice seemed deep, compassionate and contrite...almost as if she was ready to get on her hands and knees and beg.

David responded by doing something he did the last time he saw Catherine alive. He hugged her...and kissed her. It was if Catherine was alive again and right in front of him.

"We'd love too." said David. There was a long moment after that where neither of them spoke. They didn't need to...as all the words they could have said had already been spoken. They only smiled at each other again. He brought her arm around her and hugged her again...before walking away to his inevitable destination...his fighter jet.

David left the sun-kissed Sueltana Devia to herself...and walked along into the blazing morning light. He looked back at her and with the white dress blowing in the light wind, she merely waved to him...and David waved back. He continued walking, and then wiped a tear from his eye as he looked at the rising sun. The golden sun was representative of the burning passion, fear and hatred in his soul. Those emotions were twisting in his soul and he couldn't figure out how to feel. But then, he turned back to the camp...and saw the silhouettes and figures of several people, Kei, Cormorance, Lillian, Sueltana, what have him. Kei walked closer to him, and he saw it in her eyes.

"Let's pay them back. Let's do it for her...and everyone else." she said.

David realized what he was really feeling, and then picked out the burning emotion he wanted. It was the passion. It was the true reason they came here, not just for revenge...it was the passion they felt. It was the reason for which Grimm, Michael, Paulo and Polly gave their lives...it was the passion. It was why that Rue woman in Basra kissed David after the city was liberated. It was the passion. It was the reason those pilots from the tragedy in Carbonne defected...it was the passion. They all fought with the same passion to end the suffering and death all around them. Their enemies had lost their passion and instead it was hatred and fear that drove them. The day and hour had arrived.

The Dispater would the final crossroad for everyone, enemy or friend.

Next: Chapter 27: Death Incarnate


	27. Death Incarnate

Chapter 27: Death Incarnate

Chapter 27: Death Incarnate

"_I have never before seen such a creation. Destruction is its only purpose." - Excerpt from "Colony Wars"_

_**The Dispater Tower**_

_**Christos, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0810 hrs**_

When Baraka Molina first laid eyes on the Dispater...he was awestruck. He'd never seen such a feat of engineering. The entire facility had to be at least the size of small city. How they built this machine in just over half a decade was beyond anyone's imagination...even the Allies. But that was not important right now. At his back was the massive weapon in which lied the last hopes of the White Crow and Versua as Molina knew it. Everyone knew the Allied pilots were coming.

Baraka was still shaken by the shocking death of Valen Yancing. Despite his negative reputation, he was one of the best pilots left in the VAF. To make matters worse, it was the leader of those Osean aces that did him in. He cared not for the people of Carbonne. He cared not for the reality in which this weapon had been constructed. He only wanted to do his duty and take his revenge. In many ways...it seemed the only thing he had left. It was safe to say that it was not passion that drove Baraka Molina. Hate drove him. Anger fueled his heart and stoked the fires of competitiveness and dedication to his art. Now he had to show up when it mattered the absolute most. The Dispater Tower was in danger and he to defend it.

And that meant finding the Osean aces and if necessary...he would slay his way to get to them.

He knew that somewhere out there, the Deceivers lay in wait. He waited for them up in the sky like he always did. Now that Xalia had gone over to their side, he had no compunctions about anyone up in the skies. He wondered if she fought with them now.

"Keep out of the center of the battlefield. We'll engage on their flanks if any come out of the storm."

Baraka noticed the large number of flashes right in front of them. Each purplish flash more than likely meant death for one of the attacking forces.

"I can't see anything out there." said another friendly pilot.

Finally, the lighting strikes ended and several of the planes began to move up to engage the enemies that were left. Most knew the Dispater wasn't perfect and it didn't matter to them. It was more enemies to kill. But this large group of friendly planes was deceiving. The VAF had taken a huge hit over the past few weeks. Personnel and material losses had been immense. Both sides were being worn down by this terrible attrition, but the Allies could replace their losses. The Vesuans could not.

"Hold on...checking the radar." said Baraka, hoping to dissuade any notion of going out into the fire too early.

"What in the world?" said a shocked friendly pilot...having noticed his own radar.

Baraka was completely surprised at his radar as well. The sky was lit up with enemy planes! How could that be possible? The Dispater should have eliminated them. How was this possible? Baraka shook off the uncertainty but it was clear things had taken a turn for the worse already. He hadn't seen this many enemy planes since the disaster at Anapola. Now he knew it wasn't going to be easy. He knew that somewhere out there, the Deceivers lay in wait. He waited for them up in the sky like he always did. Now that Xalia had gone over to their side, he had no compunctions about anyone up in the skies. He wondered if she fought with them now.

Now he was looking forward to killing them. Baraka never took into account the possibility that he'd become just like the aces he hated once. He'd become just like Sodel and Dorian and Valen and Gevin, who sadly didn't even die from the Deceivers...but from regular Allied scrubs for pilots. By now, Baraka was the last of the old aces left. Malles had died over Valuria and Adon had died over Disra. However, heritage didn't matter at this point. Only victory did.

Then he saw the mass of enemy planes ahead. There was no fear in his heart as he simply looked around. Missiles flew and contrails were all over. He fought his way through the deadly mass of enemy razors.

And then he saw him. It was the Typhoon. It was their leader; the same one who went nuts and destroyed Diabaolos squadron almost single-handedly over Carbonne. It was the same one who Jaklyn Ors called a _freak of nature_. It certainly fit his style. The chances of Baraka mistaking this for another Typhoon were slim as Typhoons were rare among the Osean forces. This was him...no doubt.

Chaos erupted over the Dispater as the battle was finally joined. However, Baraka allowed his mind to wander just slightly just as he passed by the Deceiver. He prepared to turn back into him when he wondered about him. The only question was...who was this pilot really? What kind of man was he like? There were rumors.

Perhaps the most plausible theory was this man was a strict, consummate professional, much like Baraka himself. He dedicated himself to his art and always executed with exceptional skill, passion, and always had a callous viciousness to his character. The late Alex Harri had his own theory once. He thought this man was just a normal man who stepped into a cockpit and became something else entirely. He became a demon in the plane...and when it was all over he became the mild-mannered man again. He'd call home to his wife and kids and tell them he was okay.

Whoever this man was, consummate professional or family man...he was one man who'd stuck around for far too long. Though, there was the theory that he could have been...both.

That was the reality of it all. The only problem was that his family had been torn apart by this weapon. The only thing that made them alike...was that both men had revenge on their minds.

When David Lovecraft first laid eyes on the Dispater, he wasn't as star-struck. Having experience in battling titans in the past and the recent past, he wasn't so shocked at the size. Then again, he was already quite aware of the scope of this weapon. He knew from the briefings to expect a massive initial attack from it…but the Dispater was not designed to fire at point blank; hence the heavy defenses.

Sasha Masson had said it took six years to build this atrocious weapon. When David finally saw the schematics to the Dispater, it seemed plausible. David then realized the true scale of this weapon when he saw it with his own two eyes. But, he was still not anymore blown away than when he saw the SOLG for the first and last time. It seemed plausible at the time. Of course, a weapon of this size obviously must have taken an absurd amount of personnel, or rather manual labor, to build this gargantuan.

This, of course, made taking it down all the more sweet. Now the action had to be fulfilled. David's peaceful life with Kei and his daughter had torn to shreds. That child's death broke both of their hearts. However, up until now...it was Kei's rage that drove it and David played the ancillary. Now the tables had shifted. Now it was the rage of Blaze that stoked the inner fires of revenge and Kei who flew at his rear. There were the glimpses of his true self beneath him in the past. Now Blaze was whole again...and if he had to play the villain a little while longer...then so be it.

Blaze was doing his part. Wardog in general were doing their part. Everyone and their mother came after Wardog and their Versuan friends. However, they forgot about the other couple of dozen Allied aircraft that were closing in on the Tower. If Wardog was vengeful about the Tower...the other Allies in tow had the vengeance in _spades_.

"Let's do this! Let's turn and burn these bastards!" David suddenly shouted.

Then...he caught himself. Everyone else must have been a bit...mystified. That was just _not_ David's style or personality. Was it optimism or a bout of insanity? _What the hell am I talking about_, he thought. He thought he'd done his best impression of Andrew Fisch. However, he found himself back in the throes with this mysterious ace...flying the same plane he saw over Carbonne. Someone was going to die.

Baraka was stunned as he continued to duel as for once, he stopped blocking out his mind to everything...and noticed that everyone was dropping like flies. But no fear took him...nothing would…save one person. Ammon Kaida. Kaida's plane flew right past him. There was no mistaking it. It was him alright. The flying style...the speed, the angle...it was Kaida, no doubt.

But it seemed a certain Andrew Fisch, who was amazingly taking more of a leadership role for the first time in his life, noticed this.

"Hey Cochise! Look out! On the left! On the left!" he said.

Kaida knew who it was and turned immediately to face Baraka. He flew by his old comrade; both men's missiles having failed to lock up.

Kaida had...no idea what the hell "Cochise" meant. But for whatever reason, Andrew Fisch had taken it upon himself to call Kaida..."Cochise". Kaida was extremely confused by this sudden nickname, even for a man who spent the better part of five years in Osea. Then again, "Cochise" rolled off the tongue better than "Incubus". Besides, the latter was the old Kaida. The new Kaida was like the Phoenix reborn from the ash and dust. But Kaida was not concerned with a moniker. He was more concerned with the gargantuan machine of death all around him.

Eldrich Morton, of Mephisto fame, once gave the Dispater an interesting nickname: _Death Incarnate_. This was after he witnessed the destruction of the Odessa-Two-One facility in Yuktobania at the beginning of the war. Despite the initial success of the attack, the Allies were taking losses. _Death Incarnate_ was obviously the proper nomenclature for this machine. Of the eighty planes that were involved, twenty had already been lost. But after almost eight minutes of bitter air to air and ground strikes, the Dispater only had its shield generators remaining.

"Cochise"...er...Kaida...had to give the Allies credit. They were fighting with a passion like no other. It was good to know that he and his comrades, Jaklyn, Mendenhall Othello and Emmanuelle, did not have to do everything, much less Wardog.

Jaklyn refused to leave his side and it was now, in the midst of all this chaos, Kaida realized one thing. He finally enjoyed fighting with a group. In the old days, he flew alone and hated groups...because groups tended to be tiresome, lethargic and undisciplined. But fighting among this passionate group...he found that his judgment was flat out wrong. Passion was all around him.

There was that passion for Jaklyn Ors. It was the same passion that caused Kaida to fling his airplane to counter another enemy plane which had locked onto the beauty from Valuria. It was the same passion she had for him as she calmly thanked him for his duty...but allowed her heart to explode. It was the same passion that he saw in the skies over Carbonne. However, that was more desperation than passion. _All those people_...he thought. That atrocity burned in his mind. He would always have a long memory about that terror.

And Mephisto One was still on his mind as well. They very thought of that man made him boil with rage. Now the fangs were coming out. Forget David Lovecraft...Kaida was going to finish him. But where was he? He'd lost him! However, just as he had that thought…the unthinkable happened. The tower itself began to glow a bright color. The gaps were shining with some kind of white light. That only meant one thing!

"It's charging!" said one of the Allies.

"They're going to fire it again!" shouted Lillian.

"They can't hit us...we're too close to it!" David shouted, reminding her of the briefing.

At least David prayed it wasn't possible. However, as the weapon rumbled and the sky began to light up…it was not the sky above the battle. It was skies above cities far and away. David didn't notice it at first, until the panicking of AWACS Scion did it for the group.

_Report! What's going on!_

_Where do you want to start? We've got hits all down the coast!_

_Ciudad just took a direct hit as well._

Blaze just lost his mind. To think that in the face of defeat, they were trying to take their entire world with them. The only thing Blaze could do…was turn off his radio and let out a primal scream, oozing with of every bit of his rage in his body. The hate became fuel for a fire that burned in his soul. That fire was one of revenge and passion. He was going to destroy this damned inanimate devil himself. Then…there was a haze in his mind. He moved into engage the shield generators and shut off all outside influence. He vanished into his own world and let his

Blaze could think about Catherine for a moment. The last thing he saw in that memory was Kei and Catherine both smiling at his approach. It was that last day of summer. He was looking at his wife and his child; he was looking at two angels. Kei was like a seraphim; his daughter the cherubim. He sat down next to them, and his little girl climbed into his lap. Then he looked out to the city and the landscape. With a smile on his lips, the following exchange was made:

_You see all that? That city, the sky, the lake...all of this will be yours someday._

_For me?_

_Someday, you'll have the world and everything in it. You'll get to decide what to do with this place._

Then he came back and gritted his teeth as he thought about yesterday.

_There are three parts to the structure: the rock wall, superstructure and the inner Tower itself. The rock wall is merely that...a giant wall of rock twenty five stories high and about 600 feet above sea level. The superstructure is the man made metallic barrier about ten to twelve stories high. On it are eight anti-aircraft towers; four flak towers and four SAM towers. Inside the barrier is a massive amount of solar reflectors, satellite arrays, ECM jammers and X-9A module houses for shield generators._

Just before he pulled the trigger, David's mind only had one thought. As long as this weapon existed, Catherine or everyone whose lives had been torn apart would never find peace. As such, David wondered who much this weapon cost this country to build the Dispater. Then he wondered how glorious it would be…to see it all gone. He wondered how amazing it would be…to see it all burn and collapse in a smoking pile of rubble.

_**Inside the Dispater Tower**_

_**Christos, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0820 hrs**_

Praeten Percival was amazed. How a single fighter was able to take out all the shield generators unmolested was something of complete and utter freakish ability…and a source of unequaled incredulous feelings. How could this have happened? He was stunned and was unable to even stop Doctor Zorba from firing the weapon without a care in the world.

Things were not looking good at all. The Dispater was now exposed to the full wrath of the Allied attacks and there was little if anything that could hold them back. The entire Tower shook with a fury like no other.

When Praeten Percival was a child, he was dreamer like most dreamers were. He dreamed of a life where he wouldn't have to worry where his next meal came from...or if he'd even have a place to stay. His father was a realist and he often struck down most of Praeten's dreams. His father was more concerned with staying alive and would do anything...even kill...to make sure that happened. His lack of conscience was evident everywhere...and not even Praeten or his mother were safe from it. But despite the abuse, Praeten learned a lot from his father.

When his father was killed in the years before the White Crow came along, a teenage Praeten hunted his father's killers down, brutally executing them to a man. It was during this revenge-fueled murderous journey that Praeten learned that it was ruthlessness that ensured self-actualization. Praeten's penchant for violence tempered with his natural intellect made him a perfect member of the White Crow. And just as he did with his father, the tutelage under Morales brought more lessons on the harsh, cruel reality of life and power. It was then that he learned that all life was cheap...except his own. But over the years, he learned about his own selective morality. He didn't _really_ want the Dispater to be used against innocents...but the choices he made gave him and his colleagues no choice. But he had carved his way to the top, and "carved" up quite a few people along the way. So he accepted the fact that he was a villain through and through.

That was quite evident in his dealings with Gabriella Zorba. Percival had headhunted Zorba, who was on the run from the Osean authorities for the Grunder Industries scandal of 2010. Percival saw the genius in her device...one that could create artificial lighting. However, everyone on their mother knew that she was a crazy person. It was a high risk, high reward situation; Percival had seen both. Percival often forgot that Zorba was a pure-blooded Belkan. That was a testament to this woman's drive for Versua's success. But her drive had caused her to commit some absolutely absurd things. Then again, it didn't help that Portia was pulling most of the strings...but it was the price Percival had to pay for being on the winning side of the government.

Praeten had his hands full trying to keep the defenses together...and Zorba was firing the Dispater away like crazy, even as the Allies continued to pound the Tower. At this point, Percival could not stop this madwoman. Zorba's mind had become increasingly unglued since the start of December. Zorba had been striking at everything she could...even friendly positions. But then again, no one could have helped Percival stop this chaos...as he was in a state of chaos himself; as well as everyone else for that matter.

It was then, as another massive impact hit the Tower that Percival had a moment of clarity. For all his fanaticism and ruthlessness, for all his willingness to be on the winning side (even if meant helping an insane woman conduct a coup d'état)...and for all his absorption of his father's lessons...he'd forgotten one of the most important teachings. His father had been a gambler and a good one at that, which was more than a certain member of the Deceivers could claim. Subsequently, it was the Deceivers who were savaging the Tower. Percival had forgotten in his zealotry one principle maxim: _know when to fold_.

He spent twelve years believing that life was cheap except his own. What was he thinking still staying here? It was clear that at this point, there was nothing to stop the Allies from taking down the Dispater. They were hungry, they were bloodied, and they were as revenge-fueled as Praeten had once been when he hunted down and murdered that gang of brigands to a man nineteen years ago. Perhaps it was Makin's vengeful desire that fueled this sudden monomania of Percival's. Life may have been cheap...but Percival wanted to keep his. Luckily, they had built a subterranean train for a quick escape...and it was something that they wisely left off the schematics that found their way into the hands of the Allies.

However, the second he had that thought a massive explosion ripped through the control. Bodies and fire, shrapnel and scaffolding flew all over the place. Praeten was thrown back to the wall, but was lucky to recover. He looked around and saw the ruins of his creation...and realized that it was time to _get the hell out of dodge_, as the hated Oseans would say.

"Medic!" said one of the personnel.

"Fire in the hole! Put it out! Put it out!" shouted another technician.

Percival rushed and found his colleague Zorba underneath a pile of rubble. As he dug through the detritus, he retrieved the bloody and dusty form of Gabriella Zorba. She looked awful. She had several bleeding wounds...serious ones at that. One of her arms was bent at a weird angle and her breathing was labored and she spilled blood from her ears and her mouth.

"We need to evacuate now! Let's get to the train!" shouted Praeten.

But with a faded, breathless voice, a bloody and wounded visage turned her head to speak.

"No...I'll finish things here. You go. I must stay with my child...my creation." she said.

Percival was dumbfounded as she crawled away from him, trailing blood along the floor. The fact that she considered this weapon her "son", irrelevant of the fact she had a biological son named Bailey, made Percival realize just how unglued and absurd she'd become; though the fact that Bailey lived in Osea may have had something to do with it. Percival tolerated her bizarre idiosyncrasies because she was damn good at what she did; but now, she seemed intent on dying with this weapon. However, General Percival had no intention of dying here.

He left Zorba behind and ran for the last elevator, along with a few of the unwounded men and women. Percival knew that Zorba intended to activate the Dispater's self-destruct on a six to seven minute timer...long enough for the high-speed train to get away. However, Percival had no idea that she was planning something far worse...

With the last of her strength, she crawled over to one of the few working computers. With her bloody left hand, she opened the executable folder and entered the command _343 REACTOR SPARK.exe; _she struggled to press Enter. As she did that, she thought about her creation. So many years of research and sacrifice were going to be lost. She'd sacrificed so much to accomplish her goals. She did not want to be a captive; she didn't want to die in an Osean prison. She hated Osea with a burning passion for all these years and now she'd failed twice to punish them; when she aided the Grey Men and now. She hated it so much she rejected her own son. The Dispater was her true son and her enemies were going to pay for making her go to this length.

"My son," she said touching the computer screen, "Forgive me."

Gabriella Zorba's bloody hand fell limp on the computer screen. She was dead. As the bloody hand slid down the screen, the trailing blood hid the true purpose of the program she ran. _343 REACTOR SPARK _was not only a program to destroy the Dispater. It was to meltdown the five nuclear reactors that powered her brainchild. There was enough nuclear material to irradiate _all_ of Western Strangreal.

It seemed like a cruel, fitting revenge for Zorba. People often wondered why her personality did not seem to translate to working with others. She'd sacrificed so much...even her own feelings for everyone around her, her countrymen here and in Belka...or anyone else for that matter.

She just didn't care.

_**The skies above the Dispater Tower**_

_**Christos, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0824 hrs**_

Lillian Izzo, for more reasons than one, was always the first person to notice unusual things. Of course, it served her well that an obtuse person like Lillian would notice the...odd. What more to say about a woman who collected arachnids as a _hobby_. Strange knew strange. So when Lillian noticed that certain areas around the ground began to open up...that made a question mark go off in her head. _Now why would that be?_ Of course, Lillian noticed odd things, not only because she herself was strange, was because she just paid more attention to everything than most people.

Of course, she did not need to do any research or study on David Lovecraft. She was amazed that he was still alive…a legend like him. She didn't know much about the last war in great detail. She was only eighteen and barely out of high school when that war was going on. Now she knew why Jonathan, err…David, was so good.

She did her homework. She intensively studied the Dispater's layout. Apart from the initial plans were the locations of the reactors that powered the Dispater. In addition, there were the locations of two extremely long connecting tunnels labeled, **Subterranean Conduit Tunnel**, to the left and the right of the weapon. _Now why would the Dispater need such a tunnel, _she thought.

The Dispater was powered by the use of capacitors from the reactors and it generated enough electricity to power Oured for six years at one time. That was as much as the schematics told. _But why was the tunnel there?_ Perhaps it was an exhaust tunnel of sorts. Whatever its purpose, Lillian could have never imagined that tunnel was about to come in great need.

Because as Lillian noticed it, someone else with keen eyes also noticed it...and spoke for her. Then again...there was something more problematic on the horizon. Suddenly and to everyone's eternal horror...the shield generator for the Dispater came back online! The thin layer of lighting death surrounded the tower...vaporizing several Allied planes that had the unfortunate luck of being right near it when reactivated.

"What's going on!" said one of the Allied pilots.

"What the hell! I thought we took out the ones that made that shield!" said another of the Allied pilots.

Now things had become even more complicated. Wardog was fighting above the Tower as everyone began putting bombs and Maverick missiles into the Tower. It was amazingly resilient though as anti-air defenses continued to fire away. Then, an even more serious horror was unveiled.

"My Geiger Counter is getting readings! What the hell?" said Cormorance.

"This is Scion. We've received an urgent message from Command. The Versuans have activated some kind of self destruct sequence. They're going to destroy the weapon and all the nuclear cores below ground! " the AWACS said.

Both Blaze and Edge thought they were hearing things.

For the first time when he flying...Blaze seriously thought he was hearing things. He wouldn't believe it at first. But nuclear meltdowns…that was, without a doubt, a horrifying thought. If one were to reference anything _nuclear_ related around Kei Nagase or David Lovecraft...it would make both of them sick. The Belkan War ended under circumstances that involved nuclear bombs. Blaze's father had died in that attack. "They" even tried to nuke Ocktabursk with missiles they hid in some mountain in North Belka.

But David had a naiveté about this nuclear involvement with the Dispater. Blaze assumed that all they had to do was destroy the Tower and that was all she wrote. Not quite.

And if the Allies were shocked...the Versuans were equally, if not more, horrified...

"They're going to do what!" Kaida shouted.

"Those idiots! They're going to meltdown all the nuclear reactors? What's the yield on those things?" Alou shouted.

"Does it matter? They could irradiate the entire southern hemisphere!" Fisch said.

David struggled to find words...but his wife spoke for him. Kei always had that talent to speak the words in her husband's mind when he could not speak himself.

"Is there a way to stop it? Is there anything we can do?" Nagase shouted.

"The schematics indicate the meltdown is coming from within. A pair of large capacitor tubes has begun activating the self destruct sequence in conjunction with the meltdown. The only way to stop it is to fly into the capacitor conduit tunnels and destroy the capacitors themselves." said the Scion.

"How the hell do we do that? I guess you want us to go give God a high five then!" Fisch shouted.

Now it was time for Lillian to reveal her knowledge.

"There are two slit openings on the far sides of the superstructure. They run along the sides and into the capacitors. They all opened just some time ago." said Lillian.

"How'd you know that?" replied Fisch.

"Well someone had to do their homework before they came here." Lillian said with a smart ass attitude.

David ignored the needless sarcasm as he saw one of the entrances. David recalled the ports from the briefing. The ports were exhaust ports for excess gas, water, etcetera and so on. But it was Xalia who had the instant insight that the tunnel was big enough for a plane to fit through. It had the look of a design where it was originally made for a substitute landing strip for a base.

"Wait...I see one...but it's opening and closing for some reason." said David.

"So we've got to go _inside_ this thing! Who the hell is going to fly into that? That has a one in a quadrillion chance of success!" shouted Jaklyn Ors. "They'd have to be insane to do that!"

"You don't know what crazy is lady." said Blaze.

"Oh my god...you're not! Wait! Don't do it!" Cormorance shouted. That seemed strange, coming from Cormorance Alou. Alou always seemed to so gung-ho about everything. Not this time. Now it was time for last of the Razgriz to handle things. However, it wasn't just David who became fearless.

"I'll go in from the other side and we'll pass each other...hopefully." said a female voice.

But amazingly, that voice was not the angel voice of Kei Nagase. A least likely source of help decided to jump in. It was the voice of Xalia Masson.

"What...are you crazy Xalia!" Kaida shouted.

"No...My father started this... and I will end it." she said so simply and driven.

Once the decision had been made, neither Xalia nor David wasted any time. David never once considered what her real motives were. He didn't need to. After all, Xalia had defied her own leadership, her own depraved older sister and her own former comrades...just to make sure the right thing was done. David knew what he had to do now. He'd done this once before with some trepidation. But now, he knew the stakes were even higher than before. In the past, it was just their country that was threatened. Now the entire Western World was in danger.

Kei was stunned as David roared into the tube with no hesitation at all. There was no fear that gripped his heart anymore. Now she knew that the man she loved was going to win it all for them. He had no more fear. It was not quite passion anymore. Blaze had no more fear at all. Now Blaze was invincible. He had no fear. Kei could only smile as he did that; she was filled with nothing but pride and love for this guy who was about to do what he did best...show up when it mattered and lay it all out on the line. And if he died in there...there would be no greater honor than to see that. That was why Kei Nagase could love no other man than her husband; only he could do what he was doing now.

For Xalia, she had to do it too. She had to protect this place...the place her father had taken advantage of for years. To allow this weapon to harm so many people...millions at that...was unthinkable. She had to do it...if nothing else than to say that she tried. But there was no try; she had to succeed. There were far too many lives at stake. So Xalia had no fear as well.

But if Blaze and Xalia Masson both had no fear...so did Mephisto One. Just before the exhaust hatch closed...he found himself chasing the Osean pilot inside. He knew that Xalia was going in as well with all her conviction. However, Molina couldn't get to Xalia as she was forty miles away; but it didn't matter anyway. He would kill two birds with one stone. At this point, Mephisto One could have cared or less. He only wanted revenge and he would die gladly if he achieved his goal. It would all be worth it. But he had no time to think of the future. He wanted only to take down his hated rival...this Osean bastard of an ace.

However, he had to stop Blaze...and Blaze had no fear. David Lovecraft knew what he had to do now. He had to do it for everyone. He had to do it for Paulo Scirro, Michael Sacshenronde, Polly Elbe, Hans Grimm, Lauren Weiss, William Snow and all the soldiers in the Allied army...and the Versuan Army...everyone who'd died in Yuktobania...everyone who died in Basra, Valuria, Disra, Ciudad, Carbonne...and of course Catherine Lovecraft. Everyone who'd died in this terrible war. He had to do it for them...and he was going to deliver one way or another.

_**The Subterranean Conduit Tunnel**_

_**Christos, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0828 hrs**_

"We've only got one shot at this Lovecraft! We've got thirty miles in the caves then we pass!" shouted Xalia.

"I guess we should have taken the scenic route!" replied Lovecraft.

There was no thought for both David Lovecraft and Xalia Masson about whether or not they were crazy. Everyone said they were crazy and sometimes when everyone said something...they usually right.

So it came to pass that David Lovecraft and Xalia Masson had gone completely insane. They were bonkers...they were unhinged...they were crazy. But most of all, they were trying to do the impossible. As both of them rocketed into the caverns below the metallic conduit shielding on the surface, the doors that held their places collapsed. Now there was no way out for either of them.

Neither the Osean nor the Verusan were claustrophobic people. How could they be at this point? Then again, they had no choice given the literal confined space they found themselves flying down at hundreds of miles an hour. David had done something like this before...six years ago. David wondered why the Belkans bothered to build the SOLG control underground in that tunnel. It didn't seem like effective engineering. A couple of well placed bunker busters could have taken care of that thing.

David had thought the same thing...but High Command and all their old tricks...

However, it didn't matter at this point. He'd committed to his insanity just as he'd committed to coming to fight in this hellish, war torn place.

"Xalia...why did it have to be this way? Why are you forcing me to kill you?" shouted Molina.

"I'm not the one you're chasing Baraka! But I imagine we'll meet soon enough!" Xalia spat back.

David knew from Kei that this was the man who had tortured them for weeks in those Red Terminators. These two knew each other...and this battle was going to get personal…and nasty; nasty as it could be in a few minute span of time. So as soon as that Baraka fellow said that...he fired a missile right at David's six. David cursed to himself and quickly ascertained the missile type being fired. It was definitely infrared; a heat seeker of some kind.

He had to deploy his last set of flares to avoid this one. It was bad enough he was in a confined space...now he had missiles coming at him. The interesting thing about counter flares were they usually fired up as opposed to down. That would have its advantages...and disadvantages. Just as he deployed the flares...the enemy plane fired a second missile. David had no choice but to continue on his flight path as the missiles did something odd. The flares deployed sending one missile screaming for the ground. The other was sent up for some odd reason...hit the ceiling behind David and caused a massive rumble subsequent to the explosion it created. It had to do something to the integrity of the tunnel below...because part of the ceiling ahead began to collapse!

"Shit!" David shouted, again not being one to curse much.

David saw a large rock and metal remnant collapse to his immediate right side. David had to make another quick juke to avoid a second

"Whoa!" he shouted having narrowly avoided yet another set of falling debris.

Perhaps he should have given the Versuans credit. This weapon was much more heavily defended than anything the Belkans threw at the Razgriz back during the last war. But David did not. This weapon had killed tens of thousands of people of both sides, both genders, people of different races, and soldiers and civilians alike.

Not to mention a certain four year old child...

_Bastards! Even now they want to defend this ridiculous killing machine!_

It was the only thought in his head. But as he looked back, he was hoping his six was clear. But that pilot was on his damn tail _still_! How was that possible? Whoever this man was though had never seen Blaze at his best. If this Versuan ace wanted to play canyon tag, or rather tunnel tag...he was playing with the wrong man. This was Blaze at his _absolute_ best. However, Blaze hoped that this was the last time he had to be this good. David wanted to say something...but he couldn't. He just didn't have time. Just as the final obstacle was crossed, he entered into a _gigantic_ open area in the subterranean bowels of the Dispater.

Sasha Masson had said it took six years to build this atrocious weapon. When David finally saw the schematics to the Dispater, it seemed plausible. David then realized the true scale of this weapon when he saw it with his own two eyes. But, he was still not anymore blown away than when he saw the SOLG for the first and last time. It seemed plausible at the time. Of course, a weapon of this size obviously must have taken an absurd amount of personnel, or rather manual labor, to build this gargantuan.

Now David Lovecraft truly stood in awe of what his enemies had accomplished. He saw the well lit area of the reactors all lined up in a circle around the large open area. Each looked like gigantic boxes...filled to brim with nuclear material. The schematics showed that the cores were covered with...some complex kind of steel or iron to prevent any radiation from seeping out. But now they intended ignite these cores...and do much more damage to their own land than the Dispater could have ever done. Not to mention that the entire planet could be affected. This had to end.

There was no time though to appreciate the fine engineering and architecture of this cold and isolated place. He had a job to do...he had a capacitor to destroy. Xalia and her former wingmate continued to trade verbal barbs; however, David tuned them out. He looked to the right and saw the results of a massive explosion. Apparently, Xalia had done her part.

"It's all you now!" Xalia said.

Baraka had to stop this pilot. He'd gotten lucky once...but no one ever got lucky twice during a battle. But he couldn't quite get a good shot...yet. This man, whoever he was, was making it hell for the Mephisto ace to find his mark. He'd already sped ahead in his plane...and Baraka caught the eye of a floating shadow of some sort as the right side capacitor connection exploded.

It was Xalia.

But Xalia was not heading for the exit it seemed...she was heading right for Baraka himself. However, Baraka was not quite aware of this.

Xalia had no time to look back over her life. As Sasha had proven, her life had been a sham. She'd been deceived just as Sasha had for all these years. All this time she was fighting for an empire that had been built off the blood of guilty people, and sadly, innocent people as well. Sometimes it was more of the latter. It was the latter half that built this weapon. They were people, just incarcerated and sent into slavery...slavery to build this weapon. They were slaves because they didn't believe in her father's vision. All of Versua had been slaves to her father and all those who were different were punished. Xalia imagined that in Osea, the very idea to persecute someone because they were different in race or religion or ideals was anathema. It countered everything they believed in.

To suggest that her father could get away from it, when Osea had been so successful for so long with a system of freedom was ludicrous. She fought because she believed things would be better...but since she lived above the lives of the people she had no idea how their plight had been. That made her furious at the people she served with. No one questioned things. After all, most of them were living the lives the regular people were. She cursed them all. Dorian, Sodel, Adon, Malles, Yancing, Mephisto all...all either killed by the Deceivers or by other Allied units.

They only rationalized their evil. Most of the old aces had been involved in it all. Maybe her former lover did as well. She didn't hate Baraka before now...but she had to kill him. She had to kill him to protect what mattered most. But now that Baraka was willing to defend the decision to irradiate the mainland of Versua with multiple nuclear meltdowns...it only made her hate Baraka more. She wanted to kill him and if it meant her own death...then that was the way it had to be. Baraka was a slave...and Xalia had broken the bonds of that slavery. She would not be a slave anymore...even in death.

"Hey, Lovecraft...thanks for everything." said Xalia.

David was mystified at that statement. What did she mean? What did Lovecraft owe Xalia other than her life? Unless...

"You'd do this...even now! You've all gone insane! Has this war become nothing more than a murderous frenzy for you?" she shouted at him.

"You and I have nowhere to go anymore. But only one of us is going to stay alive." said Baraka, having set up his shot. Xalia took no time to think of a response. She had one already at the tip of her tongue.

"You're right. But it won't be _us_!" she shouted.

David heard the missile alert screaming in his ears. But by now, he'd launched his last missiles at that capacitor tubing or whatever it was. Then suddenly, he looked to the right and saw Xalia Masson's plane streaking down low. Then she climbed suddenly...

Xalia could only laugh now. She thought about Sasha as she calmly, but quickly wove her plane beneath the flight path of the two men...accelerated up just as Baraka fired his missile at the Osean man...and exploded right in front of her old lover. Xalia found the pass into death to be rather easy as her world went dark.

David then saw the explosion of his own creation, but had looked behind and saw the explosion of Xalia's plane. David then suddenly felt sick as he tried to aim for the exit tunnel. That was what she meant by her words. She knew she was going to die. But what happened? David could only wonder as he maneuvered past the fire and destruction on the way to the exit. He didn't have time to think about Catherine's vengeance. It would mean nothing if he didn't get out. As for David, his only logical conclusion was that she collided with the plane behind her. He couldn't determine if it was intentional or accidental at the time.

Of course, he had no idea that she did not collide with the enemy plane...only intentionally colliding with the missile from that enemy plane.

Baraka was stunned as he fled the scene. A cold sickness crept into his heart; a cold sickness that he'd failed his country, he failed his comrades...and he'd failed the woman he loved. It was then and only then...that he thought about the possibility that she'd been right all along. He aimed for one of the conduit tunnels...the same one the enemy pilot flew down to escape. But behind him...the ruins of the cave collapsed on the entrance. It was a long distance away... but Baraka Molina did not change course. He would have died anyway should they have failed.

He'd abandoned his old squadron mates. He'd disgraced their names. He'd alienated so many so he could have his revenge against that man, that Deceiver who'd destroyed the Versuans' last hope of victory. He drove away the only woman he'd loved...and he'd killed the only woman he'd loved. For the first time in his life...Baraka Molina cried. He'd felt the horror of what he'd done and now...it was all over. There was no place for him anymore. So Baraka Molina closed his eyes and accepted his fate; he accepted that this weapon would be his tomb. He only hoped that Xalia would forgive him...even now.

But she'd never forgive him and now...Baraka knew what it felt like to be Ammon Kaida. Baraka Molina was in a place he never wanted to be...he was all alone on the battlefield. It seemed like such a foolish error to make...but he accepted his fate, collided into that wall of rock and stone...and died alone. The heart and soul of the Mephisto Squadron...was gone.

That meant of little consequence of David Lovecraft. He saw the light at the end of the tunnel as metal, rocks, and debris fell through the cave. Behind him was destruction...and he could not hear the words of his Allies above the ground in the tunnels. Then he saw it...and open port in the surface. David smiled a bit and rocketed out of the tunnel into the blazing morning sun as the Dispater was finally tamed and everyone's doubts began to cool. There was no better feeling.

"Did you see him? Did you see him! The plane that went right for the core!" said one of the Sotoan pilots.

"No!" replied another of the Allied pilots.

"I don't see either of them!" Fisch shouted.

"Wait, look! It's blowing up from the inside!" said Lillian did it.

"What the...oh my God...those crazy bastards did it!" Fisch concluded.

Just as he said that, Kei looked below with anxiety like no other. Her husband had said nothing after he flew gung-ho into that conduit tunnel. Kei had been flying with him at his side for many missions now and six years prior. There was very rarely a time he went alone. David once said that he loved her iron-willed devotion...even when they were merely friends and wingmates. David always wanted to remain faithful to her to repay her for all the times she stuck by him, and even saved his life many a time, during those deadly battles. That was Blaze and Edge in their purest form: loyal, faithful, committed...and most of all loved. That was love in its purest form. They had a pure form of devotion to passion. The passion for each other that exploded in their hearts like an atom bomb whenever they were around each other.

When the Dispater began to explode in a shower of dust, metal, and fire, all those mentioned things felt like the fireworks in her own heart...when she saw that Typhoon, albeit trailing smoke, rocket out of the other side of the conduit tunnel. Kei had to clutch her heart to make sure she wasn't having a heart attack. This entire horrifying affair started with the death of someone else she held her undying love for: Catherine, that bouncing little girl who seemed she had a bright future and nowhere to go but up. Now she'd been avenged...and so had so many people who'd died from that damned weapon's destruction; Grimm, most of all. Kei had always felt somewhat responsible for his death as she'd broken her own beliefs to come here. As did Kei become a pragmatist, so did Grimm...and now he was gone. Snow hadn't died from the Dispater...but she knew that so many of the people he'd served with had met their fate from that weapon's deadly grasp.

"There he is! He's out of there!" said Cormorance.

Perhaps Kei blew it out of proportion. The tower itself exploded in places, but it was only just the tower. As it began to keel over and die, so did the hopes of the war continuing on. Kei flew over anxiously and urgently to him. Kei could see the dust and the smoke coming off his fighter. Kei was breathing so hard it took her half a minute to compose a response as everyone looked on in cheers and jubilation as the dreaded tower went down. She clicked on a private channel. She wished she could dematerialize from her plane and kiss her husband right then.

"I don't know what to say to you anymore. There aren't enough adjectives…" said Kei.

"You don't have to say anything. You've said plenty right there." replied David.

But just as quickly as they moved to the private channel, everyone was lighting up the radio. There was the sense of absolute joy tempered with a restrained sadness for all that had happened. Even in the throes of death it still remained a deadly sight. But all of the Allies witnessed it collapse into nothing but rubble. Dispater was now a smoking wreck and it was nothing more than a graveyard now. It seemed fitting for such a weapon of mass destruction.

"You are my God from now on. I'll have your baby, I don't care. That...was..._amazing_!" Lillian shouted.

"Uh...thanks, but...no thanks." he said.

But before David could even respond, the voice of that slick haired Ammon Kaida came over the airwaves. It was clear what he was going to ask and David decided to answer it for him. David shuddered when he looked back on flying into that tunnel; for that mere moment, he looked back and saw those two planes collide. It was a chilling, definitive sight that he'd never forget.

"Where did..." Kaida started to say.

"She crashed right into the plane behind me...just as we crossed flight paths." David said, unknowing of the truth. But at this point...it didn't matter. He definitely owed a debt of thanks to that woman.

Ammon was silent for a long time. David then imagined what he was doing. Kaida was probably just as shaken as David was. For all his work, David had forgotten the toll this war had taken upon people who used to be their enemies. Though, it seemed more of acceptance given the knowledge of this fact.

"Thanks. I'm sure she died as she wanted." Ammon said simply. Then he was deathly silent.

"So...is the war over?" asked Fisch.

"No...But it's getting close. I hope." Kei replied.

When she said that, David then felt the presence of a soul leaving him. But the feeling was one of joy and felicity. Perhaps it wasn't just the avatar of Catherine...perhaps it was the embodiment of everyone who'd died because of the Dispater; everyone all over the western world: Yuktobania, Vastos, Basra, Valuria, Carbonne, Ciudad. As one, they all found their rest as their souls could finally be free of the terrible monstrosity that had ended their lives so quickly and so viciously. Everyone wanted to cheer the loudest for them...as they had no voices anymore. This was for them.

Then there were the living voices of those whose lives had been forever affected because of this weapon. People had lost sons, daughter, parents, and even suffered terrible physical wounds because of this weapon. They could finally have some piece. The Dispater Tower was gone. The ultra-advanced cold, black ivory tower that evil had built had been torn down by lesser technology...piloted by people who had hearts and emotions for the aforementioned tragedies...each one a bleak vignette of its own. This was their victory.

"Thank goodness. You just saved a fifth of the planet. Forget the drink, I'll buy you the bottle!" said Jaklyn.

David almost ignored the words of this Ors woman...because the victory did not belong to him. It belonged to Versua's own people. They were a people who'd been stepped on and abused for so long...and now the instrument of oppression had been stripped away as violently as it destroyed and ravaged for weeks unchecked. It seemed rather ironic. He then thought about Xalia...and it was ironic that the daughter of the man who built it was one who helped bring it down. In fact, two of his daughters had done that. They were the ones who saved Versua. They were the ones who deserved the praise.

"No...I didn't do anything. I didn't save your home...Versua saved itself." David concluded.

Next: Chapter 28: A Violin Adagio for Blaze


	28. A Violin Adagio for Blaze

Note: This chapter and the next will really pay off people who've read my previous Ace Combat fanfic, "Confessions of a Belkan Ace". And yes...it does rain in the desert.

Chapter 28: A Violin Adagio for Blaze

"_At times thought I might write myself away, fit my entire body and mind into a few thick envelopes, and that way, as a stowaway, escape the ghastly fate that awaited me." - Excerpt from "Jarhead"_

_**Curasao, Versua**_

_**January 9, 2017**_

_**0900 hrs**_

_Belle Bohemia_. That was the name of a song that had no significance to anyone unless their name was David Lovecraft. That was the song that was in his head as he landed. There were five parts to the orchestral masterpiece. _Phero, Cephei, Muerto, Lerra, _and _Boheme_. That was his song. Whenever Blaze needed time to himself, he sang the song to himself. It was his secret, a longing for a past long remembered. It was a wanting for a song that would bring peace to his soul; one that had been long tortured and blackened by the ravages of war.

There was no better feeling than for him to step out of his airplane and greet the others as they whooped and hollered and let the entire world knew how they felt. They were ecstatic; from the boorish Fisch and Lillian to the at-times taciturn and all business Cormorance, to the warm-hearted Kei Nagase, to the suave, guileful Kaida, and everyone else. There were the thoughts of the dead...and it was for them, David felt, they cheered the loudest. It was for them the praise was directed; they deserved it more than the living. "They" were probably doing the same thing in the afterlife.

Then...everything changed in the blink of an eye. A group of SUVs pulled up and many armed men poured out of the vehicles; and behind them came Lucien Jackson, George Mason Clarke, and a few other well dressed men. The black clothed guards swarmed the Verusans and in the blink of an eye, people who'd been filled with passion to save their land from the horrible reality of the continued existence of the Dispater...now found themselves being treated like prisoners of war. Guns were out, and not just regular pistols. These guards carried full automatic rifles and had on full body armor.

At this point, David felt the warping of time. David wondered what was going on. He didn't think of the music. He could think of the adagio that was Cephei, the music of concern; the music that indicated that the heroes may not win. The music that told the story of what seemed like open treason. David could imagine how the Verusans felt right.

"What the hell is going on?!" Kaida shouted angrily as he found himself being forced to the ground by the armed men.

"What are you doing?" David asked. That seemed a strange tone to ask it in. Perhaps he would have been better off using the tone that Kaida did. However, Kaida seemed more insulted than angry...at least in David's view once he'd processed the situation.

"What's with the guns? What the hell?!" shouted the woman. David looked at the skinny freckled form of Emmanuelle Ganda being treated like a criminal rather than the hero she was. Everyone else knew it...but why was this happening?! It didn't make any sense.

It sure as hell didn't make sense to David Lovecraft. Blaze snapped upon this display. Several of them men tried to hold him back as he saw Kaida resisting being handcuffed on both his legs and feet. He felt some urge to help; to do something. He turned angrily to Jackson while being restrained, with a hatred that only his wife possessed towards this man. It was amazing to watch, at least for Kei who shared the sentiment. But oddly, it was not the emotional Kei Nagase who snapped...it was her husband.

"Hey, hey! Back up...wait a minute! What the...what the hell are you doing Jackson?!" shouted David. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy...even if they felt the same.

"What are you doing?" Fisch asked. But that question was not directed at David's outburst.

Fisch had conflicting feelings about this. On one hand, he just wanted to get the hell out of this country and go home, go to a booking place and put some money down on a sports team. On the other hand, Fisch had a responsibility to the men and women he served with; even if it was people who were once the enemy. He had to give them credit for helping out...even if he didn't care about this country.

For Cormorance, it was mostly indifference. It wasn't that he cared about these people in this particular instance. It was the acceptance that he could do little else. Cormorance also wanted to finish this war and go home and be with his family. But the idea of any foreign social responsibility, within reason, was not a concept that applied in this case. Cormorance had always been taught that the higher ups did things for a reason. Perhaps there was a reason. Then again, did it really require _this_ much force?

"Hey! Calm down!" Jackson shouted at David. Then Lillian got involved.

"What are you doing with him? What's going on!?" Lillian shouted.

"Just relax, come on. Follow me." said Lucien, trying to keep the peace. But David was still fire-hot in anger.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" David shouted at the men behind him, violently shoving them off...even George Mason Clarke. Lucien grabbed him by the collar.

"That's enough! Calm down. Relax!" Jackson said more forcefully. David sneered at him with a hateful look. He brushed off Lucien's hand as he was no longer intimidated by this man.

"Come on...let's go to the briefing room." Jackson said calming down.

David calmed down a bit and followed him. Kei followed him as well. Cormorance and the others watched helplessly as the others were taken away. Kaida shouted at Jackson.

"You son of a bitch! Don't think your superiors won't hear about this! This is not how you treat heroes, asshole!" Kaida shouted.

Perhaps Kaida would have been angrier if Kaida realized just how callous Jackson had treated Sasha...or the entire resistance for that matter. His anger was quite justified given the reality of the situation. But no one knew about it that had any power and that was good enough for Lucien Jackson. As the Versuans were taken away, the trio walked along the edge of the camp to the briefing area. No one said anything along the way.

After some long tense minutes, Lucien finally led them into the briefing room. The couple sat down on the opposing end of the table from Jackson as they always did. It was an act of defiance and derision for this man. On the table was a bucket of ice with a wine bottle in it with several shot glasses around it. Jackson opened the bottle of Chabian Merlot and poured him and David a shot. He only slid that one down to David since he knew Kei considered drinking anathema.

"Here, have a drink." he said. David hesitantly drank the shot of Merlot. "Drink up, be merry. The Dispater is gone!"

However, David did not feel like celebrating right now. He wanted answers.

"Now, I need you two cool. Are you cool now?!" Jackson said forcefully.

Kei said nothing. David finished the drink and held the shot glass in his hand.

"Whatever." David started. Then he smashed the glass on the ground. "Okay, what gives Jackson? What were all the guns for? Why were treating them like prisoners? They helped us blow up that thing and you treat them like criminals? What the hell?"

Lucien did not break poise.

"It's mostly a security measure. Though, they are no longer my concern. As are you." he said coldly.

And with that statement, David had a moment of clarity. Now he knew why they were _really_ brought here. It didn't immediately register with Kei, who had the twisted look of shock and confusion. Her head jerked a bit, almost as if her brain was rejecting what she heard as complete and utter gibberish.

"What?" she said.

"I must say, your feat of aerial insanity surely saved a lot of lives. Though, your allies are seemingly aware of who you really are. Well, Mr. Kaida does...and I'm not sure how he knew. However, we are going to find out eventually." said Jackson.

Kei could almost imagine what that would mean. If what Sasha said was true...then Jackson was no better than the man who tortured her in Basra.

"Now that the Dispater is destroyed, we don't need them...or you or your companions anymore for that matter." said Jackson, still maintaining his cold tone.

"Excuse me?" Kei shot back.

"After that crazy antic of yours, we cannot risk any leaks. Plus, for all intents and purposes, the war's pretty much over. We've got this puppy locked up. All we need to do is organize a Special Forces mission, get some guys around Clavis, get rid of Masson and her cronies...and that's all she wrote." said Jackson.

"So...that's it?" David said, struggling to find words.

"That's pretty much the end of your role in this. You and the others will be taken back to the rear in Vastos and you can ride out the rest of the war in relative comfort." said Jackson.

David sat back down and looked around in complete befuddlement.

"...that's it? That...seems so...anticlimactic." he said.

"What were you expecting? A fanfare?" said a sarcastic Jackson.

Kei looked at Lucien with a poisonous look; she didn't appreciate the sardonic humor. Lucien simply laughed it off. Then he shook his head. David knew that whenever this man started laughing, he either was going to say something he probably should have kept to himself...or say something that would make the couple hate him even more. Then again, the latter idea and the former were not mutually exclusive...which was not a surprise given Lucien's track record of pissing of both David and Kei in an almost clinical, clockwork fashion.

"Though I'm amazed you've gotten this far. I didn't think any of you would survive the Dispater."

David finally processed what he saw. Now...he was angrier than ever. But instead of showing it in a burst of rage...he did something that was classic of the old Blaze; something that Bartlett, Snow, Chopper and Pops would be proud. He laughed it off as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. And in one horrifying way...he had to respect this man. He was one of the most manipulative, coldest, calculating men he'd ever met. The Belkans would be proud.

"...I get it. We were expendable the whole time, right?" he said.

"What?!" Kei shouted back at him.

Lucien Jackson licked his bottom lip and laughed it off as well.

"Well, you've certainly got a point there. The truth is...all of you were expendable. I fully expected none of you to survive this war. And yet, five out of nine is pretty damn good considering the odds you faced." Jackson replied.

"Oh...I see. So I guess you piled us, the motley crew, together just because we were convenient to dispose of. We were a bunch of regrets and weird people just to be sacrificial lambs. Not the all the thousand other pilots who died; it's kind of ironic...isn't it?" David responded in an odd, almost sardonic tone.

"In a matter of speaking." said Jackson.

Kei Nagase's face turned a shade of blushed purple and she started to shake a little bit. Her lips were quivering...then her brow furrowed upon having finally been able to process the information. She stood up, turned the table over and angrily confronted Jackson, who was equally surprised at this display.

"You disgust me...you...you _knew_ why we came and yet you thought we were going to die the _whole time_! You didn't give a damn about us..." Kei started. Then all of the sudden, the gravity of the situation took hold...and she calmed herself down once she realized what was going on.

"And yet...why am I not surprised?" she said in a softer, but equally hostile tone.

"You two make a wonderful husband and wife...but Nagase...you and your husband are the most angst-ridden, bizarre, soft couple I've ever met. You both have some deep psychological issues...to be kind. You two are just...an aberration onto the married world itself. The mark of the talented person is the flaws of that talented person. I selected you two and the others because of your flaws. Grief, insanity, insubordination, gambling issues, rage issues; you people wouldn't last a week in a regular squad. I pretty much allowed you to do whatever you wanted because you were so good. It's nothing personal. But the truth is, the more flawed the pilot is, the better he or she usually is. We weren't originally going to put the average Joe on the Dispater assault. Why do you think the initial survival rate was so low?" said Jackson.

Nagase was stunned. For Jackson to so callously undermine the relationship was beyond insulting and degrading. To consider them oddities was just absurd.

"Angst-ridden? Are you kidding me? We lost our daughter only a few months ago! How do you expect us to act?" Kei shouted at him.

But Jackson ignored her, which pissed her off even more…but it was not a surprise considering that Jackson had made it a habit. She looked for David for support, but he was stunned into silence. But Nagase knew that he was thinking the same thing she was orating.

"You two are smart, yet...you know nothing about the reality of the world around you. True, the war is going to be over...but the truth is...nothing is going to change here. Not by intentional design. Cylaron seems to disagree, but in a few years they'll be packing up and leaving. I was thinking about that when I was talking about this issue with Sasha. But to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised at whatever result came about when this war ends." said Jackson.

Kei was quivering in anger at this point. She was like a dormant volcano now.

"So the President just wants this nation to rot? Is that what you're saying?" asked Kei.

"To be honest...I don't know. Personally, if it was up to me, we'd declare _Mission Accomplished _and get the hell out of this place. I could care or less about what goes down here." said Jackson.

"...and yet, there's nothing else we can do about it. That's what's driving me up a wall right now." said David.

David said the unthinkable. Kei looked at him with a shock she'd never done before.

"Are you insane? This place will be worse than it was before! Do you know what's going to happen?!" Kei said to David.

"You didn't care about this place...then you cared, then you didn't, then you cared...and now you forgot where you were. Make up your mind, woman." Lucien snapped back.

Nagase wanted to curse this man out. And yet, she realized her husband was right. She sat down in the chair, all her worst fears coming true. She hung her head and let out an angry sigh. Jackson then shook his head, got up, and began to walk off.

"Damn, and I thought _Ms. Izzo_ had issues. Whatever. You'll be picked up here tomorrow, along with the other squad mates. Now, I have some more business to attend to. So, I guess I'll see you when I do." said Jackson with a dismissive tone.

"That's it? No thank you? No..._Thanks for your services and I'm sorry about your loss_?" said David, angry again.

"We both got what we wanted, no? Consider that thanks enough." said Jackson with a dismissive wave. "See you around."

David and Kei sat there for a very long time and neither said anything to the other. Neither knew what to think anymore. In a way, David did agree with Jackson...with one point. David Lovecraft just wanted to get the hell out of Versua. This entire time, David knew that this place was not where he truly belonged. And yet, he had to come to this hell and avenge so many. Now that Catherine and all the casualties of that weapon had finally been vindicated, there was no reason to stay here any longer. But would this land always be a Hell? That didn't seem possible. Then again, Belka was still a mess after the Belkan War. Yuktobania was a mess. It was then that David realized that statement about war was too true. It never solved anything.

But Kei Nagase refused to believe it. She had the hope for change...even in the face of obvious evidence. However, she constantly bounced between the hope of change and the obviousness of the motives in which she came to this land. But with the Dispater demolished, she saw the reality of the situation. She saw the way these people lived: the dirty streets, the ramshackle homes, the wild dogs, children playing in sand and mud with God-knows-what were in that fetid mess. These people deserved better. They'd been stepped on for so long, and thank goodness some of their own were able to see it.

The tragedy of it was that Kaida and his companions, even the ones who gave their lives to save this land, were nothing more than expendable chess pieces...just like Kei and David, Cormorance, Lillian, Andrew were...and just like Grimm, Paulo, Michael, and Polly had been. Despite this, she hoped this land would change for the better. She held the hope inside for so long, even in the face of the hate she had for the White Crow. However, with Lucien Jackson's bleak and indifferent outlook, that hope seemed foolish.

Her body started to shake again, then shook her head and slowly got up...unable to figure out what to think. She still had the regrets. Though it was not for Catherine...it was for this David got up as well...and put his hand on her shoulder. She reached up with her right hand and grabbed it, almost trying to crack a smile...but it was difficult. Then finally she just collapsed her head upon his shoulder and said nothing. David finished wrapping his arms around her...and for the longest time they just stood there in that embrace.

"The only thing is...now what?" she asked.

"I don't know. I just wish we could...leave right now and go home. I don't think we've ever belonged here." David said.

David and Kei did not say anything, and then Kei started to sob. David cradled her head and looked right at her.

"Shh...It's over. We've done what we came here to do. The only thing we can do is accept it and go on. We can't change the world...we can only save the world." he said with an unusually soft tone.

"I guess we did." Kei said, drying her eyes with a partial laugh, "I guess we're damn good after all. We saved the world twice."

They both stood there for a very long time. As they did, a light bulb went off in Kei's head. She'd forgotten something very important.

"I have something for you. It's something I wanted to give you." Kei said to David, leading out of the briefing by the hand.

David said nothing and followed her. He knew it was the gift she'd gotten him for his birthday the other day. After a very long and quiet walk, they entered their tent. Kei then reached down, bending over to retrieve something from behind the wall of clutter. David looked on at what she was doing (and a certain attractive part of her body as well) and she retrieved a flat wide object she'd cleverly hidden. If only David knew the true extent of the secrecy she undertook to ensure he wouldn't find out about this gift ahead of time...

"Do you remember...when you told me that story?" Kei asked.

"What?" David said while looking up, ironically embarrassed that she'd catch him looking at her posterior (though she always laughed it off). However, she took a more serious tone.

"You know..._the_ story. The story about your mother?" said Kei.

_The_ story. That story Nagase heard once and a million times to everyone he told. That story about Echo Park. It wasn't actually much of a story when one could break down the component parts of it; however, the way Kei's husband told it...it was almost was a bebop-like soliloquy. He told it a million different ways, but despite its simplicity...it held a profound meaning for David Lovecraft.

It all started on this specific day twenty two years ago when David's mother took him to Echo Park in Oured. Not so ironically...it was the same park David took his daughter when she was three years old. During their time there, Catherine took her son to some open air orchestral performance. David was only eight years old. It wasn't so much the park he remembered...it was the music the orchestra played. That music was the _Belle Bohemia_. David was obsessed with its tunes. He knew it so well he could hum the entire theme. At one point, David even stood up and thought he was conducting the orchestra. And his mother thought it was greatest thing in the world. From that day forward, that was his song. It was the song he constantly played in his head and depending upon his mood, a different part he would play.

Despite having told the story to everyone and their mother, it was only the second most closely guarded secret he held since he came to this land; second only to his true identity.

The memory was one thing...but the tangible evidence was the only picture of his mother and him from that day. The photos were taken on a disposable camera that and the one hour photo place screwed it up. Only a few pictures remained...and the one that meant the most was the greatest memory of that day: when he sat near his mother near the Parasi Oak, the largest tree in that town.

Then it was twelve years ago when the tragedy happened. His mother was walking alone on some dark road and some lowlife scum sought to mug her. She fought back doggedly...but the end result was an untimely death for the woman who was David's only link to any innocence he had left. It wasn't so much that she was gone though...it was that it happened in such a brutal, senseless fashion. Kei knew all the sordid details of that story. Despite hearing the one about Echo Park a million times...she shook with disgust upon the details of his mother's cruel death.

Then there were the dreams...the dreams of that rainy funeral. He always saw the blood covered corpse-form of his mother. Her tears were blood and blood poured from her ears. The slow andante of the _Muerto_ said it all. Despite the passing of time, that pain still resided in the mind of David Lovecraft. That was probably why Bartlett said in a report that Blaze had some "issues".

Though Kei always thought that was an unfair judgment of the man who became her spouse. Everyone had some psychological trauma in them and anyone who said otherwise was a fool or a liar...or both.

When Kei saw the picture of him and his mother...she appreciated how much it meant to him as that day did. But David thought the picture had been lost when he left Sand Island six years ago, despite the fact it was worn from the passing of time. Kei also knew that David constantly said that he saw his mother in Kei...and that was the reason he gave her birthday gift: the shiny blue amulet that once belonged to the late Catherine Lovecraft.

So Kei had something which had survived weeks of exposure and extreme, bizarre combat conditions. It was covered in some wrapping. She then unwrapped that...and David could see it was a painting inside a frame. Kei then took the painting and faced her husband with it. David was stunned. He quivered as he touched it and tentatively removed it from his wife's hands. And Kei could see a tear coming from his eyes. Then more tears could be seen.

The painting was almost Impressionist in its design. The water coloring and the shading were absolutely beautiful. It was a painting of four people. However, two of them were in a pose. A child and a mother...a child and a mother that almost looked David and his mother. It was slightly inexact, but still replicated image of the precious photo of him and his mother he lost so long ago. However, the image looked almost ghostly.

But then, he looked at the other half of the painting...and it was a replica of the picture of him and his daughter Catherine sitting on the _other_ side of the tree, just as they did years ago in Echo Park as well...superimposed into the caricature of him and his own mother!

David said nothing...and sat the photo down on the ground. Kei looked with a smile at first, but then her look turned to a serious one as she observed the man she loved...just staring at it. After a long moment, he turned to her...eyes bright and wide open. Kei looked right into his misty eyes. David often called Kei an angel. For the first time in her life, she found the angel's eyes in that of a man. Her husband had the eyes of an angel. It was as if he'd looked into the heavens and saw the face of God.

"I had a friend paint this..." Kei began, but David cut her off by grabbing her and lifting her into the air.

"I can't believe you did this. You...you know what? I'm...I think I'm whole again. Even more so than that time in the sky...even when my own identity was exposed." said David.

For a few moments, all time between them stopped. David forgot about the problems that he knew were afoot. The fate of the Versuans passed into the darkness of irrelevance. Lucien Jackson, Cylaron, the war...it all faded away. David smiled for the first time in what felt like a long time.

David then did something completely bizarre. He ran around, carrying Kei in his arms, then he put her down as she laughed her head off. David ran out into the desert and started screaming sounds of absolute joy and waved his arms around like and airplane, and making airplane sounds as well. After that display, he started jumping up, and pumping his fist just as he did when he landed back from destroying the Dispater. Kei saw the insane display...and thought that it wasn't so crazy. Kei looked at him with a curious eye as her husband nonchalantly walked into their tent and sat down on the sleeping mat they both shared. He was panting, almost in disbelief of what he just did.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked while laughing, almost as if she knew what he felt. She could feel the absolute joy in him. She sat down next to him holding his hand. Her hand grazed over his own, an action that caused him to shake. Then...something even more strange happened.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm fine. I am…fine. I'm...going to be alright." he said. Then, he just started to cry for no reason. He was laughing and crying at the same time.

But Kei knew otherwise. Her husband was not fine by any stretch of the imagination. But then again, this was why she loved him. She just held him there, almost like a little child. In a way, in that display, he regained a piece of himself that had been lost for so long. After some time, Kei simply kissed him on the head and lifted his head.

"That's why I love you. I like being glad that I think I know you…and yet I still can't figure you out." Kei said.

"Thank you...it's good to have that memory again. Now I feel like myself again and we can move on with our lives." David said.

David and Kei sat near each other, simply looking into each other's eyes. Nothing was said as both thought about the future. They thought about home, they thought about Sueltana who was sulking around somewhere. But Kei had waited for this day for a long time. The war was going to be over. They could start over. However, Kei wanted to get a bit of a head start...

"Why don't we start now?" she said.

The anger melted away in the hearts. Despite all they felt, the truth was simple. It was all going to be over and done for the couple. The war was going to end for them. It seemed strangely selfish, but Kei and David decided to forget all the problems around them. Kei became both playful and aggressive, pushing her husband down onto the mat. David took a look at the painting again as Kei put her head on his shoulder.

"I will say, that was one hell of a birthday gift. Straight from the heart." David said.

"Well, that's not all. It's too bad we didn't have a party for you...so let's have one of our own." she said. Then Kei Nagase did something odd.

Next to them was a UMD player. She pulled a UMD from her pocket and put it into the player. She started pulling out earplugs from her other pocket and putting them in David's ears. Then she put a set of her own headphones on. Apparently, the headphones were connected to each other and the player so both could hear whatever was on the disc at the same time. David was initially confused...but when he heard the strings and instruments of the _Belle Bohemia_, he understood. But, he had one other major concern. It wasn't that the _Belle Bohemia_ was actually mediocre as an ideal romantic tune. It was the rather obvious...something Kei danced around while she started loosening the buttons on her flight jacket...

David reached up with his right hand, trying to reach over to this right...but Kei began to guide that hand to her chest. David began to speak, but Kei put her index finger over his mouth softly.

"Shh..." she said quieting him.

"I was just going to say...if you're thinking what I'm thinking...I think we should zip up the tent flap." said David.

Kei's face blushed so much that it matched the color of a red supergiant star.

"Oh! Silly me." she said embarrassed.

Kei giggled a bit, reached over, stretching almost, and zipped up the tent flap. Kei reached over and re-hit the play button on the UMD player. As the _Belle Bohemia_ played, neither left the tent or each other's embrace for many hours. Neither of them said a word. Just as well, as it started raining that night. Rain in the desert was unusual, but Kei and David did not care. Between Kei's kiss and the music of the _Belle Bohemia_, David's obsessions made him feel like he died and went to heaven.

Time stopped for them and both of them kept the embrace and if they were combining into one being. It was almost as precious as the first time. There was just one tiny problem as evening set on. Sueltana, by no fault of her own, put the kibosh on the romance late that evening. In their romance and their willingness to forget their problems...they forgot that Sueltana needed her beauty sleep too.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**January 10, 2017**_

_**1000 hrs**_

Blaze had never ridden in a Pave Low helicopter before. It was amazing that Lucien Jackson had this amount of pull. It was almost scary and that was perhaps the reason why David and Kei disliked him. The others were indifferent about him...mainly because they had no idea as to this man's true nature. Earlier in the morning, the entire squadron was taken by Pave Low to Vastos, a town they left so long ago. It had only been a month of living like rats in the desert, but it felt like an eternity. The Moab Madra had not become any less friendly as they had to dodge a few nasty sand storms on the way. Fisch then mentioned that the last time they were here, Paulo, Polly, and Grimm were still alive. It did indeed seem like an eternity ago. However, for everyone, they all came to the conclusion that the Dispater's destruction meant that everyone could rest in peace.

Of course, Sueltana was excited to be on this massive helicopter. It was the first time she'd ever been able be on a flight; although technically, it was the second. She flew with the maintenance crews to Vastos the first time they came. Of course, she was sleeping the entire time. When she was awake then, for all her excitement, she became queasy somewhere along the way and vomited all over the floor.

Now things had become extremely surreal. They were used to comforts being the air force, but now they had roofs over the heads for the first time in weeks. And just as well, as it began to rain again. With the weather, all flight was suspended and Wardog were milling around Vastos along with a ton of other Allied personnel. Vastos had become the central hub of Allied activity in the country. There were armed guards, vehicles, planes, concerta wire, and military personnel everywhere.

And more disturbing, at least to Kei Nagase, was that her archenemy, the Cylaron Energy Corporation, was here in force.

So they were supporting the troops? Nagase was not amused. She knew they were nothing but a collection of corporate opportunists. Other than David and Sueltana (who were neutral), Cormorance, Lucien, and Fisch, everyone in the squadron, maintenance personnel or otherwise, was on Kei's side. Even Lauren agreed as she was disgusted as Cylaron made their presence known early in the war.

Speaking of Lauren, Kei had been unable to contact Lauren for some time. Kei wanted to talk to Lauren to further console the young woman for Grimm's tragic death. However, neither David nor Kei could reach her. Perhaps she'd been moved to another hospital...

As for Cylaron, what made it so insulting was the fact that they weren't even _trying_ to cover up their actions. To make things worse, Spade Six, some new private mercenary company that had been hired by the Allies, had joint ventures with Cylaron. The Spade Six outfit was already causing havoc with the air force as their pilots were flying missions for loads of cash. Several air force pilots has been reprimanded for seeking out applications. And that brought up an interesting point: what would everyone do once the war was over?

Fisch had gone off in search of Spade Six for possible recruitment as he'd already made clear his intentions to get out of the Air Force. Fisch's five year commitment expired in March, and the war looked to be long over by then. He already had his honorable discharge papers.

As for Cormorance, Cormorance was torn. He wanted to go home and see his family again. But Comorance had the personality of a classic lifer. He could be leading an entire fighter wing in a few years. Alou had the personality of a "worker". As much as Alou could grate on everyone, he was a solid leader and an excellent pilot and had vicious combat skill. Alou could fly for any squadron in the Osean Air Force. However, if one asked him...he'd say he'd probably already had done so.

Lillian had to finish her term, but the chances of that were low. Lillian was bounced from squad to squad due to complicated internal squadron politics. For all her peculiarities, she was damn good at what she did. She was almost as good as Cormorance, and at 24, she could only get better. David always thought it was unfair how the other squadrons treated Lillian Izzo. She was odd, but Chopper was odd as well. Blaze was odd. Edge was odd. Archer was odd. Bartlett was odd.

David knew what this collection of peculiar people did six years ago...they only _saved the world_.

David then thought about Kei and himself. From the outside, it seemed obvious. They would go home and try to pick up their lives. They'd try to have another child, despite all the difficulties and tragedies they'd had. But life was life and it was precious to both of them. Then there was Sueltana. How would she fit into Osean culture?

David thought about the Verusans as well. What would happen to them? What would happen to their country? What happened to Kaida and Sasha, Othello, Mendenhall, Ganda...

The airfield they were at was the exact same airfield that they were stationed at weeks ago. But over the course of the weeks, the wear and tear of war had made it a cold, damp and boring place. Then again, it could have been the miserable rain that poured down on the desert city. David sat in his small room with Kei as they were unpacking all of their gear, when a man entered into their room. He was almost running into the room, or rather, almost slipping into the room as he just came in out of the rain. He held a dripping, folded up umbrella in his right hand.

"How's it...oh...I'm real sorry, I must have the wrong room." said the man.

"Huh?" David said a bit stunned.

"I was looking for Mr. Fisch. I have his information packet for Spade Six..." said the man.

"Who are you?" asked Kei.

The young man looked to be about twenty two or so. The man was Caucasian, but he had a strange yellowish complexion to his skin. His hair was a long blond underneath a helmet he wore. He was wearing the same outfit the Cylaron security guards did, along with body armor, but he was not armed. David had seen them once before, but Kei had not which was a good thing...for the moment. Of course, it made sense for a civilian to be padded up like this in a war zone. Despite the end of the Dispater, there was still a war on. The man's mannerisms indicated that he seemed to be a bright guy. But there was an air of entitlement to him.

"Oh, my name's Santiago Blutarch. My mother said I was named after someone she knew during the Belkan War, but that's neither here nor there." the young man said.

"Really? Where do you come from?" asked Kei.

"North Osea...well, sort of. I live in Oured now, my parents and my sisters live in North Osea." said the young man.

"Your parents were Belkan War veterans? Wow..." David asked.

"Forget that. So, Cylaron...you're one of the sales reps, no?" Kei said. David picked up a hostile tone in her voice. _Uh-oh_, Blaze thought.

"Yeah, well...I'm just in training actually. But when that damn lighting hit our base in Disra...took out a lot of people I worked with. A lot of guys just were getting out of the Bana City University's business apprenticeship program." said Santiago.

Kei scoffed and snorted in obvious derision. She looked at her husband as if to say, _can you believe this guy?_

"What was that?" Santiago said in response. Kei got up off the bed and approached him in an aggressive manner. _Oh...Jesus Christ, here we go again_, thought David.

"You want my honest opinion? This war started over that Tower, but now it's become a money grab for oil and this country's profits. No one or nothing has convinced me otherwise. You set up even before the war is over, the biggest oil company in the land...and you expect me to think it's not transparent. Get over yourself." said Kei with poison in her voice.

The young man recoiled back a bit, almost intimidated by Kei. But he did not show it.

"It's not what you think. See, Cylaron's trying to put jobs here. It's all part of the rebuilding process. We hire people from this country to work in factories. We get gas, they get jobs, revenue streams are created...boom! The country will be back on its feet in no time." said Santiago. But Kei got right in his face.

"You really are naive if you think it's going to be that easy. Are you sure that's your words...or are they from your company mission statement or something?" she said.

Then, Blutarch unloaded on Kei Nagase.

"Look, I'm a guy barely out of college, I got a high maintenance girlfriend, I got a two year old kid to raise and support, I got bills to pay...what do you want from me?! What do you want from us?! I'm doing the best I can. I don't agree with everything. But I've got to get up and go to work just like everyone else. You think you're different because you fly planes and have things handed to you?!" said Santiago, angry as a hornet's nest.

But before Blaze could see Nagase try to school this Santiago Blutarch on the lessons of life, he had to step in before Kei's verbal barbs turned into real ones. Getting his wife riled up on Cylaron was the last thing he wanted. He got in between them.

"Hey, hey...Kei...look. This Santiago is a young guy and he's just struggling and trying to make a little scratch. Why are you so offended by it? We can't do anything about it. Not all business is nice...believe me." David said, trying to make the peace. He then turned to Santiago. "Though we do work for our keep too, you know."

"I understand. It's just...your partner here...she reminds me of that crip woman from that hospital. Oh man...nevermind." said Santiago, almost haunted.

"What do you mean?" Kei asked. Kei was a bit dumbfounded that he would use the term "crip" to describe a disabled person. It was then that her initial thought of Santiago's aura of arrogant self-entitlement was accurate after all.

Santiago sat down on of the chairs in the room.

"I was up at the 312th Medical Detachment Center a couple of days ago. It was mostly for people who lost limbs. But by some mix up, I ended up there. So, I'm talking to this one woman...she lost both her legs to that Tower. She's horribly depressed, in all kinds of pain, on all kinds of meds...she's in Hell...and me being the good guy that I was, I talked to her. She was a nice woman...until I brought up what I did. Oh, she got pissed. She called me a corporate, heartless, bastard opportunist. Then she mentioned something about her husband coming over to fight with his friends or something and how one of his friends would feel the same way she did and blah, blah, blah..." said Santiago.

David looked dumbfounded and Kei exchanged a look of perplex with him. This woman...sounded awfully familiar to both Lovecraft and Nagase.

"But, other than that, she was real nice; a very sweet girl. She had some country girl in her voice, but she spoke like a philosopher. What was her name...Lauren? Yeah, that was it. Lauren. Yeah...that was her. But man...that was messed up what happened to her." said

"I know. She can't walk anymore. I think I know who you're talking about though." said David.

David knew it was Lauren Weiss he was talking about. The story certainly linked up.

"No, I wasn't talking about _that_. I was talking about the...incident? What...you didn't hear?" said Blutarch.

Now Blaze and Edge were extremely worried. "What happened?"

"So, the last day I was there. I go to talk to Lauren one more time. Just to say my goodbyes and good lucks. I come into her room...she's bawling her eyes out. She just got off the phone and she was just crying her eyes out. Turns out her fiancé had died. And I felt really sorry for her so I stayed with her for a bit" started Santiago.

Edge was praying that Lauren was okay. "Go on."

"So I had to go make a phone call of my own... and my mom is just a motor mouth. I get stuck on the phone for twenty minutes. Then, everyone starts running around. The doctors are screaming and the nurses were going insane. I run back to see what the commotion was...it was coming from Lauren's room and the entire room was just a mess. Then I saw it. She was lying, rather slumped, down on the bed...blood was _everywhere_." said Santiago. He looked somewhat haunted.

"What?!" David interjected.

"I actually had a letter opener I was using in the room...and I left it there. That woman...she'd...apparently she slit her wrists with it when I left the room. I guess her fiancé's death did a lot to her. I guess she couldn't live without him." said Santiago, almost shaking at this point.

David became sick to his stomach. He just looked pale. His wide-eyed, confused expression was similar to one that Grimm would make a lot when he was equally as incredulous.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." said Santiago.

"...I think I have." David said softly as he turned away in sadness.

_Belle Bohemia_. That was the name of a song that had no significance to anyone unless their name was David Nicholas Lovecraft. That was the song that was in his head as he landed. There were five parts to the orchestral masterpiece. _Phero, Cephei, Muerto, Lerra, _and _Boheme_. The more somber tone was the one of _Muerto_. It was an andante for the string portion of the orchestra, more specifically, the violin. It seemed like something that would have been played at a funeral.

That was the song in David Lovecraft's head. He said nothing more to Santiago Blutarch and walked out of the room. Kei called his name twice; once softly and another more forcefully. However, David paid her little heed. He even walked by a curious Sueltana, someone he never ignored. However, as they both passed each other, they each gave the other a look that told the entire story. David's eyes conveyed a deep sadness. The girl looked at David with her own sympathetic eyes; almost as if she had a full understanding of what David knew and felt. David returned with his own look at Sueltana's expression of understanding.

David now truly longed for the chance to actually be this girl's father. They finally seemed to understand each other. Their looks said enough. What a difference a day made...high to low to high to low again. David's emotions were all over the map.

As Kei half followed her husband into the hallway, she stopped having realized how futile it was to immediately approach him. She thought about the first time Grimm introduced Lauren Weiss to her. She seemed to possess a bright mind coupled with a simple, common sense approach to life and it was mixed with a sense of rural naiveté. Kei almost had the full picture of what their future would have been like, how they would have lived, and so on. All it took was some nuclear powered electromagnetic weapon to erase the lives of two good, honest people. Then again, how would Paulo's wife and kids feel at this point?

Or Michael's parents?

Or Polly's boyfriend?

Or Grimm's brother?

How would the rest of the familial worlds feel? The ones who've lost so many loved ones in this struggle; and in this struggle, Kei found the weight on her own soul. That weight had been lifted when the Dispater was destroyed. Now the weight of the world was back on her shoulders. That was the reason she did not follow her husband. She knew that he had the same weight on his shoulders.

It didn't matter that Lauren's death was self-inflicted. That was not the point. Her husband felt the same thing. She dried her tear-filled eyes...but could not stop the flow of saline fluid from the windows to her soul.

David didn't cry. He was sad...and furious at the same time; but not at Lauren. It seemed a strange cadence of cognition, fantasy and reality. The violin was playing in his head again. The depressing adagio of the _Belle Bohemia_ played in his mind and all he could see this time was not the funeral of his mother. He saw the graveyard...and the ghostly faces of all the people who fell in this war. Snow, Grimm, Paulo, Polly, Michael all; and then...he saw the blood covered corpse-form of Lauren Weiss. Just as he saw his mother in those dreams...she had tears of blood. The slow andante said it all. It was still raining outside...just like at that terrible day ten years ago.

The reality was this: the Dispater was to blame. It seemed bizarre for Blaze to still have hatred at an object that was destroyed and gone. However, the sad reality of it was that it did indeed deserve the endearing hatred. The people who fabricated that machine of death were still alive. Those men and women deserved an eternity in the darkest, deepest part of Hell. Lauren Weiss' suicide only validated that fact. Therein the lay the biggest tragedy of all: the Dispater was still killing people that didn't deserve to die.

Next: Chapter 29: The Death of Crows


	29. The Death of Crows

Note: And here is the penultimate chapter. One more baby...but just so you know, there will be a sequel to this story. There is one direct reference to my previous fanfic, "Confessions of a Belkan Ace". Though it kinda gives away a major twist in it, but it was necessary to the fic. I would recommend reading it, but this fic dwarfs my previous one in terms of detail. Now, keep in mind that there other references peppered throughout this fic, but these two stories are not direct continuations of each other...they're just little homages.

Chapter 29: The Death of Crows

"_Are we simply here to destroy each other, destroy our cities, destroy our culture, destroy our souls...all in the name of winning? And for what? That is what war fails to answer...and yet...we still fight it. For some people, the war is merely mental. For so many unlucky ones the shooting war still goes on...even when the official hatred ends." - Sienna Blutarch_

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**January 12, 2017**_

_**0800 hrs**_

Blaze hadn't been the same since meeting that Blutarch fellow. He tried to disbelieve what he heard from him. That couldn't be possible. Why would _Lauren_, of all people, kill herself, even after the tragedies she suffered? However, that seemed a naive question. After his own digging, he discovered that was in fact the cold truth.

Lauren Weiss had taken her own life.

The truth was that it was never reported to the proper area of the military, not even the Allied publications. That seemed like a case of what Kei called, "absurd negligence". However, that may not have been the entire story. At least it was better than the "mistaken death" incident during the war in Yuktobania where a soldier was killed by friendly fire and it was reported as a KIA from enemy fire. David never forgot the crap storm that created. There were many other apocryphal examples, but that one stood out from the rest.

Kei had wisely given her husband distance at first, but she could hardly leave him to his own grief. Then again, Kei still had the same grief. There were times where she would just think about it for a few seconds and could not stop her own tears for a few minutes. There was a time where she tried to keep strong during these terrible events, after that "incident" when they were just nuggets. The first mission she ever flew on where all those other pilots were killed.

After the encounter with Bartlett, she couldn't keep the hardened look she had when she posed for that picture Albert Genette took. One of the other reserves caught her crying, someone she'd hated since training. Kei had forgotten his name, but he was one of those Alpha-male, annoying, tough guy pilots that made Comorance very tolerable in comparison. But not even Comorance would have said what this man said to her. Kei couldn't even repeat those horrible words in her mind, especially when we called her...a certain part of her anatomy. And he was being kind when he said that; he called her weak; a person not fit for combat.

It was then that a man close to Kei's age came and stopped the issue dead cold. This particular young man wasn't intimidated by this aggressive gentleman, to be polite. The younger, calmer, more imperturbable man resolved the issue with the belligerent, chauvinistic man with one simple wager. Bartlett had made Nagase his wing. He had to pick the two pilots to go with him on patrol the following day.

"You know what? You spend so much time talking about how much you're better than everyone else. I'll bet you twenty bucks that I'm on the next mission and you're not." the man said.

The other man accepted. The other man was not on the mission. The one who stuck up for Kei was on it. Of course, Kei already knew who the winner was. She'd respected him for a long time for his penchant to always show up when it mattered most. That man was Blaze...of course. It was not that moment she fell in love with that man however. It was the first time she realized that he was worth going to mat for, even if it meant death...even more than any other comrade she had.

It was sort of the way she felt now about Sueltana Devia. Even though it wasn't official, this bright Yuke girl was a member of their family now. Wardog was all this girl had now anyway, and there was no one that did not want her company.

"Hi!" she said, coming into their room. Sueltana had reverted back to the raccoon style mascara this time, a sight that made both David and Kei laugh when they saw it. However, David was off walking around the base and judging by the bead or two of sweat that was on her face, as well as her deeper breathing...Kei deduced that she'd been looking for David.

"Hey." Kei said in response.

The girl looked to the right of Kei and saw the painting this woman had given David for a late birthday present. Up until now, the Yuke girl had not seen the picture. She stared at it with an attention unlike anything else. Kei said nothing as she watched the girl stare right at the photo. It didn't seem like she was only interested in the portion of the painting where the girl was represented. She took notice the entire painting in sheer amazement.

"Wow, that's pretty. Did you paint that?" Sueltana asked.

"No, a friend of mine did it for me back home. My husband loved it." said Kei with a smile.

After a long period of looking at the poster, Sueltana asked a different question, which was a unique character quirk she had; the ability to seamlessly change a subject.

"Where do you live...I mean...in Osea or wherever?" the girl asked.

"Oh...we lived in this town called St. Helene. It's a little place with only a few hundred people. It's nice. It's very beautiful with rolling hills and a beautiful river nearby." said Kei. Kei did not need to embellish her place of living for this kid. She _knew_ that St. Helene was a beautiful place.

"I see. Do you hate the city? My mother hated the city. She said it was too loud and dirty, and that's what I remember about it." said the Yuke girl.

"I see. It's not that we hate the city, it's just we don't like a lot of people living around us." Kei quickly replied.

"Do you have a nice house?" said Sueltana.

Kei laughed out loud. Sueltana had a bit of acceptable vanity to her; of course, she was a girl after all.

"Well, it's a small house, but we keep it nice. I just hope its that way when we get home. Someone's supposed to be watching the house, but we don't know who...I think its one of Mr. Jackson's men." said Kei.

Sueltana then brought up an interesting point.

"That other lady, the tan, pretty woman that came from the south...she hates Mr. Jackson. She called him all kinds of curse words to her husband." said Sueltana.

Kei wondered at first, and then knew she was referring to Sasha. Kei arched an eyebrow for a mere second as she wondered what point of contention they had. Kei thought her move to the rear was for the same reasons that Wardog was moved to the rear. She had no idea about the Tenenbaum incident however, nor did she consider that Sasha was keeping her mouth shut for a reason.

"Yeah, she hates him. I don't like him, but I don't hate him." said Kei. But that was a bold faced lie. Nagase hated Jackson as much as Sasha Masson...if not more.

That was one other hope for the end of this war...so she wouldn't have to do deal with that manipulative man again.

"Hey." said a obviously familiar voice. Both girls turned on a dime and saw David walking into the room. He passed Sueltana, rubbing his hand on her hair again. However, this time Sueltana was a bit annoyed as she spent a lot of time combing that black hair of hers. David just cracked a small laugh. He sat down beside Kei and faced her as if he were on a park bench.

"Hey. So...word around the campfire is that the raid's going down at 1200 tonight." said David.

"What's going on?" the Yuke girl asked.

"Well, a bunch of soldiers are going to invade the Casta Alde, where Versua's leaders are and capture them. And that will be all she wrote. The war will be over." said David.

"Really? Wow...just like that?" Sueltana asked in a confused tone.

Sueltana had a point. Wars didn't just end overnight; however, she was not quite cognizant of the idea of figurative sense. It was more of an ideal, a dream...but it was a dream that was plausible. Of course, David had seen just about everything. Flying spaceships, lasers weapons, electromagnetic weapons, airships, falling satellites, flying underground twice...so just about _anything_ was possible.

"I hope. I really do. I've kept hope for a long time in the face of all this craziness. I just hope it holds up."

"So...you're hoping for...hope, right?" Sueltana said while laughing. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Oh, I think it makes much more sense than you think. You won't understand that until you are an adult...but sometimes we need a little dreaming in our lives." said David.

David thought a lot about that statement. It was good to have a dream...but it would never bring back the people he missed so dearly. Now he found himself being angry at the dead Lauren for the first time. But he quickly dismissed it knowing how futile it was. He'd been indifferent most of the time he was here for the plight all around him...just for the goal of avenging his daughter's death. Now that he'd finished his duty...the only thing he wanted to do was go back to St. Helene and restart the peaceful life he and his wife had worked so hard for...and nearly died for. It was a life so many had given their lives for recently and in the war with Yuktobania. David and Kei vowed during the day they married that they would be eternally in their debt.

_**Casta van Alde**_

_**Clavis, Verusa**_

_**January 12, 2016**_

_**0800 hrs**_

The Black Castle had been a silent place for a long while. For the Versuans, the darkest hour of the war had come. They still held onto Ciudad, but the Clavis region was falling to the Allies. Within a few days they would be within striking distance of the castle. With no Dispater to hold them back, it seemed like the end was near. Ignis had requested a meeting with Percival and Teslat in the lower levels of the castle early that morning.

As William Masson did towards the end of his life, Portia Masson was becoming far too unglued. But at this point, a coup would be useless. They'd be delaying the inevitable. The only question was...what would happen?

Percival, Ignis and Teslat met in the bowels of the castle as Portia's insane rambling became almost impossible to deal with. Approaching Portia now was almost suicide as she could have killed anyone she saw. She considered them all incompetent and everything seemed meaningless to her. Portia was lost to everyone now as the last days of the White Crow regime were no doubt here. Percival seemed rather melancholy.

"So I guess the dream is dead after all." said Percival.

"No, not for us...unless you want it too." said Ignis.

"I admired Zorba and Makin for what they did. However, I do not wish to be a martyr." said Percival.

"Well...there is some value in that. But killing ourselves won't solve the problem." replied

"At this point, what can?" Teslat added.

"Well, I do have an idea as to that."

"So we go and forge a new life somewhere in the world where there is always trouble. The only question is how do we do it? There is nowhere we can run easily."

"That fact was not lost on me. Time is the essential factor here...and time is against us." said Ignis.

"The allies are coming for us. With no Dispater to keep them at bay, they'll come on with a vengeance and possibly kill of us." Teslat added with a sense of urgency.

"I'm afraid there is a bigger problem than that. I've received intelligence that Osean Special Forces are only a day or two away from conducting a full scale raid of this place. Their intentions are obvious...to kill or capture us." said Ignis.

"No sense in figuring out how you found out about that...the question is...what did you want to show us General?" said Percival with a cocky demeanor and an arched eyebrow.

Ignis uncovered a tarp with what looked like a large box underneath. As he did, it was in fact a large container covered with bio-hazard symbols.

"This...is our ticket to freedom." said Ignis.

Ignis then opened the massive container...and in it were two, black colored, triangular shaped devices that were the size as the massive doors inside the castle. On the devices were stickers and warning panels and along the side of the two devices were the same word written in blood-red ink: PANDORA-220.

"What the? Are these...what I think they are?!" Teslat shouted.

"Actually, no...they're _not_ nuclear warheads. I give you the Mark 220 Pandora. This weapon was used by a faction of Osean pilots, who after losing many comrades and family during the Belkan invasion of Osea in 1995, went insane and started running amok. They used this weapon against Belkan civilians. In one particular case, an entire city was destroyed this weapon. The members of the faction were killed or captured by a unusual Belkan/Allied alliance. Zorba actually brought these here with her from Grunder Industries. But, most of them were in disrepair. We've been tinkering with these...and we've created a new weapon. A new weapon that countries are already bidding on." said Ignis.

Percival was angry now. Now he knew what Ignis had been doing all this time! He'd been trying to secure his own future and follow his own agenda rather than help the cause!

"You're selling these?! To whom...and what good does that do us?!" Percival shouted, pointing his pistol right at Ignis' face. Ignis didn't panic at all because he knew that Percival wasn't going to shoot him. He simply pushed the pistol out of his face and as expected, Percival calmed down once he heard the news.

"Well, there were some people in Estovakia who were interested in these. I had to trade with them some supplies to finish the Azazael." said Ignis.

"Hmph, fat lot of good that did." said Teslat with a barbed voice.

"But, I imagine those same people are interested in what we can bring to the table." said Ignis.

Ignis did have a point. Percival put the pistol away and thought about it. He fled the Dispater's doom so he could live to fight another day. Was this truly any different?

"What about Portia?" Percival asked.

"To hell with her. That woman's lost her mind since the Dispater went under. We're the ones who need to keep one step ahead of everyone. Besides...I don't think any of us want to face that scene in some High Court in Oured and get life in some maximum security pen...or worse, the electric chair." said Ignis.

"Well then...I guess to ourselves we must be true. But where do we go? Estovakia? Belka? Yuktobania?" asked Teslat.

"We'd be killed in Yuktobania and Belka's still rebuilding. Estovakia is the only possible place we can go." said Ignis.

"Fine then...I guess we'd better learn the language." said Percival. "But how do we get _these_ out of the castle?"

Percival pointed to the Pandora bombs. Ignis shook his head.

"Oh...we don't need to get them out. We're going to use them...as a little surprise gift for the Special Forces coming to kill us..." said Ignis before stopping himself. "Actually, I have aside to that...let's use Portia for this one. It's her they want...it's her they'll get...and a massive present in the form of these Pandoras!"

_**Bright Hill**_

_**Oured, Osea**_

_**January 12, 2017**_

_**1900 hrs**_

President Mary Cohen sat in the Oval Office waiting for word from her man in Versua. This powerful woman had accepted all the criticism and thrown it right back at her enemies. At this point, all the critics and their foolish words had become white noise. Cohen was literally on Cloud Nine when she heard the news about the Dispater being destroyed. She was so jazzed up from the news that she nearly danced on top of her desk in the Oval Office had it not been for the fact that she was in a meeting with the Cabinet. Despite whatever apathy she had for the Versuan people, she knew that brave action by Wardog's elite had saved millions of lives on both sides.

Despite that contempt she had for her predecessor, Vincent Harling, she knew he knew that Lovecraft gentleman. That man had a real knack for clutch performances. Lucien's gamble had paid off. He'd sent them to the rear on his personal edict, which was not a bad idea considering they were an insurance policy anyway. Speaking of Jackson...

One major issue was Jackson's handling of the Tenenbaum situation. He'd done his job, but he'd handled it in an extremely poor and unprofessional manner. Cohen gambled that it had something to do with Jacksons's own super-patriotism and his own contempt for the Versuan people. But this was something different. He'd gotten into a spate with Sasha Masson and killed Tenenbaum and his men right in front of her to make a point. Jackson had always done good work. Cohen understood the brutal and deadly work he did for Osea's safety; however, to abandon discipline to make things _personal_ was unacceptable.

Cohen knew that this could be a public relations nightmare if Sasha went public. Then again, Jackson and the men of Section Seven were not beholden to the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) or the North Point Convention rules regarding prisoners of war. In the era after the Belkan War, the liberals held them accountable for those rules...and Cohen knew that red tape indirectly led to two rather obvious and historically significant wars in 2004 and 2010. Then again, who the hell was Sasha going to run to?

Mary Cohen could not punish Jackson too harshly for his role in the "incident". To do so would have made Cohen a hypocrite. Mary Cohen herself had made the war personal. There was plenty of politics involved and no one could say otherwise who knew the entire story.

Cohen and Section Seven knew what was really going in Versua. There were still plenty of White Crow supporters in Versua. It was one important fact that remained censored from the media. Versua was going to be a hot bed of racial and social tension after the war was over...and that was only _if_ they were lucky enough to avoid full on civil war.

That meant garrisoning in Versua...that mean lower approval ratings...that meant far too much heat from the Madam President's constituents...that meant not getting reelected. That, more importantly, meant letting the liberals take control of Osea. That meant the military going into the tank _again_. That meant the military being incompetent _again_. That meant more money for useless environmental projects...

She'd shoot herself in the head before she let that happen again. But, it was a reality, so at least Cohen wanted delaying the inevitable.

But there was one other reason she'd made the decisions she did: the Osean people. The force the Yukes committed were scaling back due to trouble at home. The Sotoan government was historically flaky; that fact did their military a major disservice as they fought extremely hard and took many casualties. The fact that anti-Allied insurgency was more than possible was carefully edited from the news. The _last_ thing this nation needed was for their soldiers to have to fight irregular troops. That meant car bombs, IED-laden booby traps, roadside bombs, suicide attacks...

Mary Cohen's oldest son was fifteen and wanted to join the military when he left high school. She had nightmares of him dying from one of those attacks, garrisoning a meaningless third world country four years from now. She'd shoot herself in the head before she let that happen on her watch.

As the nightmare passed and she shook from the mere thought of it, her "special" cell phone range. It was Lucien.

"Madam President," Jackson said, "Operation Eclipse is go. All we need you to do is pull the trigger."

There was nothing she could do to prevent a civil war at the present time. The only thing she could do was to capture the White Crow's leadership to _at least_ make sure those lunatics were convicted...or killed.

"Do it. Extreme prejudice authorized." said Cohen.

"Gladly. Let's hope for the best...or at least hope the targets don't fly the coop." said Jackson.

"God, I hope not." said Cohen.

The President hung up the phone, got up out of her chair and looked into the distance of Oured's city lights. Thousands of lives had been lost to this war due to the actions of two very different governments. Cohen knew the choices she and her Black Ops teams had made were going to affect millions of lives on all sides. If Versua changed for the better, fine...if not, she at least hoped Osea would not complain if they got their troops back. However, that seemed strange given the fact that so many supported the war. How fickle people can be...

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**January 12, 2017**_

_**1400 hrs**_

Andrew Fisch was an anomaly in Wardog. Then again, he was an anomaly in any squadron. Though he was less of one than Lillian Izzo was, he was still someone who just didn't seem to belong in a fighter squadron. At least, that was the way that Ammon Kaida pictured him. Fisch was a simple guy with simple desires. He wanted four things: he wanted to fight in combat, he wanted to get drunk, he wanted to gamble, and he wanted get laid every night. He had a hell of a lot less complexities than Izzo had. In a strange way, Kaida thought that Fisch was actually more like Alex Haari in his maverick style of life. Izzo had a Xalia-like quality to her personality.

Kaida had been initially upset at he and his comrades being sent to the rear like prisoners, but that Lucien Jackson fellow claimed it was for security reasons. At least he apologized, which was more than Kaida expected. Sasha thought he was a total prick, which was the most civil thing she said about him. She even shockingly referred to him with a series of certain ten and eleven letter word curse words not even the foul mouthed Jaklyn had ever used. She even called Jackson a word that she _invented_...a compound word so foul, so horribly acidic that it made everyone cringe. That was the rare, nasty side of Sasha few ever saw. However, most of the time...she'd come up with some witty, intelligence-driven comeback. But her at happiest, she was a joy to be around.

But now, Kaida was not around Sasha. He'd been walking around the base for awhile and found the quarters of Andrew Fisch. He'd wanted to know more about the people of Wardog and peppered them with questions and for the most part, they'd played along very well. Kaida always figured the Osean pilots to be just like the men and women he served with. It was no surprise since Kaida lived in Osea for a time. Then again, he already had the book on Andrew Fisch, short as it was. By comparison, the complex Lillian, Kei and David were novels. But Fisch had actually beckoned Kaida into his room upon seeing him. He was reading some pamphlet at the time.

"Hey! I'm starting up a poker game with some of the officers from the 302nd. Want to play some cards?" asked Fisch.

Kaida shook his head. It wasn't that Kaida hated cards; he was just considered himself a more refined gambler.

"No, I'm more of a craps guy." said Kaida.

"Really? Hell, we should go to Vegas sometime. I know some people there and they can hook us up. I also know where all the really good hotels are, with slots, blackjack, poker, roulette, craps, booking places...the works." said Fisch.

Kaida came into the room and sat down on one of the chairs in the room.

"So what was it like? Being up there while you were fighting us?" Fisch suddenly asked. Kaida was not taken aback as he'd been asked this question a number of times.

"What was it like? It was like...being a phone booth with bees all around you just stinging the crap out of me. Then I'd get out and have a swarm chasing me. No matter where I ran they were all over me. How's that?" said Kaida. Fisch laughed.

"Much less graphic than weeks ago when Lovecraft was telling me about the first time he was in combat. He was making references to slitting his wrists...wait...that's kind of ironic." said Fisch, before trailing off...fully aware of the personal issues going on in the lives of that married couple. There was a long period of silence between the two.

"What are you going to do when this war is over?" asked Kaida. Fisch was not taken aback as _he'd_ been asked this question a number of times.

"Go to Vegas, get some hookers and drop my hazard pay on the blackjack table..." said Fisch. But Kaida cut him off.

"I mean, after-after. I mean...are you going to stay where you're at or...look for new opportunities?" asked Kaida.

Fisch was taken aback this time as most never asked him in-depth questions as they knew Fisch was a one dimensional guy. Fisch never denied it as he never wanted to lie to himself. He liked being one-dimensional...it was so much easier to live.

"Well, I don't want to give up flying. But they rejected my re-app, so that's it for me. I get my full honorable discharge papers two weeks after I get back. But after that's over..." Fisch said, pulling out the brochure he was reading. On it was a name marked "Spade Six".

"What is this?" said Kaida, as he looked at the pamphlet.

"Rather than ask you the same question...I'm showing you this. This company has great opportunities for flying man. I give you...the Spade Six Corporation. A publicly traded mercenary company...that's almost unheard of. From what I've heard they've got a fierce indoc and training regimen...but the pay is out of this world." said Kaida.

"_Publicly_ traded...are you kidding me? You mean...people can buy stock in this company? Are you kidding me?" Kaida said incredulous.

"It's a good solution for you man. Because...let's be honest man, this country's ain't exactly going to be a four star venue when this war ends. Not that it ever was...no offense." Fisch said.

"None taken." Kaida replied.

"You're not seriously thinking of joining them are you?" said a familiar voice.

Fisch and Kaida looked to their right and saw Cormorance standing in the doorway. Cormorance was not too amused by the musings of Fisch as he knew Andrew like an open book. Cormorance thought the entire mercenary act was a wash, but it seemed that Andrew had taken some initiative and backed up his words.

"Well, yeah. I got nothing after this war's over." Fisch added in a dismissive tone.

"...you mean nothing after going to booking places and getting plastered in some bar, trying to hook up with some guy's wife for the seventh time?" added Alou.

"Well, that's what Polly wanted to do...but...nevermind." said Fisch, his tone less than humorous.

Fisch really didn't like talking about Polly dying. Fisch still hadn't forgotten about it, even if his demeanor and his antics said otherwise. In reality, no one had forgotten the dead...they'd just had no time to mourn with all the action.

"Trust me man. If you join one of those merc groups...your reputation is going to take a huge hit. I can already tell you that very few regular air force guys like the mercs." said Cormorance.

"So what? I'll be making all kinds of money. They can't say a thing to affect me when I'm rich." dismissed Fisch.

"Assuming, of course, you survive long enough to get rich." Kaida said.

"Oh come on, we've survived a lot. I mean, these guys get some intense missions...but we've been on some intense missions ourselves...right?" said Fisch, nudging Kaida.

"I guess. I don't know. There may not be much left after this war's over and for all my intellect, flying's the only thing I've done." said Kaida.

"Apart from Jaklyn-I mean...other things?" said Fisch, concluding the Freudian slip with a wink and a smile.

Kaida said nothing, only nodding his head in response; he then turned his gaze down the hall to where he heard laughing. Kaida recognized the sound of Sasha's distinct nasal laughter. He smiled then shook his head. As their own problems, they agreed to let the war end and then finally hash out their marital problem, which was all Kaida's fault anyway.

"What about that girl you're always hanging out with, or your other buddies for that matter; I say we go down to the office and get them signed up." said Fisch.

"No...They wouldn't last six months. Jaklyn maybe, but Mendenhall, Emmanuelle and Othello are liabilities. I've seen them and they're not anything special." said, oddly, Cormorance.

Even more oddly, Kaida didn't object to the open and harsh criticism that Comorance Alou made about his comrades, much less Jaklyn. Kaida didn't know much about Wardog, but he knew that men like Cormorance were highly skilled men...just as Comorance Alou always had been. Kaida never once brought up the association he had with Comorance back in Osea since Alou would more than likely not remember. Then again, it was a non-issue just as the real identities of Lovecraft and Nagase were. Kaida always thought that was a bit of a shocker. Then again, they had other issues to be concerned about...and since they were already a talented group without the remaining members of the Razgriz it was no surprise it became a non-issue. It was amazing to Kaida that this group was so tightly knit considering they'd been cobbled together only weeks before the war.

Meanwhile, Sasha was sitting next to Lillian down the hall in the "designated squadron room". Neither Sasha nor Lillian realized it at the time, but both were about to imitate an encounter just two days ago. They'd already been talking for some time and they were laughing and joking as if they'd been the longest of friends. For Sasha, the death of Xalia had been fresh in her mind. However, her death had not been in vain...which was why she could laugh and joke now. She was not in total mourning. Sasha thought she'd never have to mourn for her sister as long as she died doing something important...the way she wanted to go. Xalia died on her own terms and she died the way she wished as well. Sasha was proud of her sister, and the pain was minimal.

Instead of being sad, she was laughing her head off talking about a rather humorous story involving the late Polly Elbe.

"...so then she says, 'I'll give you something to play with pal!'...and she just throws down, there's this big fight..." began Lillian. By the end of the story, Lillian and Sasha were laughing so hard they almost fell over.

"Oh my god, you _fly_ with these people?" asked a humored Sasha.

"Well, flew but...you know what I mean." said Lillian trailing off, not wanting to talk about Polly.

Both sat near each other in an awkward pause, then for whatever reason, Sasha started laughing again. Lillian found her laughter to be infectious and then Lillian did something very odd. Sasha tried to talk, but she couldn't because she was laughing to the point where she could barely breathe.

"I'll give you something to play..." Sasha struggled to repeat Lillian's words while laughing her head off almost to the point of rolling on the floor and crying.

Lillian leaned over while laughing herself and pulled Sasha's head to her shoulder in some show of friendly affection...but then overcompensated and _kissed_ Sasha on the forehead. It was not some pecking kiss...Lillian held it for a few seconds. The odd thing was that Sasha did not recoil in disgust like some women would. Sasha recoiled in sheer embarrassment and surprise.

"Okay...wow." said Sasha.

Lillian had the_ "what the hell am I doing" _lookon her rather shocked face. She couldn't believe what she did.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I got out of control...I didn't mean to do that..." said Lillian. Sasha laughed.

"No, I not mad...I'm just a little taken aback. Are you like this to everyone?" asked Sasha.

"Well...yeah. You don't think I'm a freak now do you?" said Lillian, still a bit embarrassed. However, Sasha laughed it off.

"Well, you are odd, I will admit. But, I'm in no position to judge anyone at this point." said Sasha.

"Well, it's good to know someone else other than these guys likes what I am. Back home, no one else did. That's why I ended up here. No one wanted me around their squad. At first I thought it was because I was woman...yet I showed up and did everything well. Hell, most of the times I did better than everyone else. For two years I just drifted around, no one appreciating my talents." said Lillian, telling her air force story.

"Well, that's not fair! They can't treat you differently because you're unique and do the same thing everyone else does." said Sasha.

"It was unbelievable...every time I kept hearing something like this..." Lillian began before shifting into an uppity, sophisticated sounding voice, "..._oh my God, this woman collects spiders. She can't possibly be a good pilot._"

"I guess you're lucky you did end up with these people. From what I understand...they found a diamond in the rough. You're stronger than I ever was." said Sasha, fully aware of the words Tenenbaum had said to her long before. Lillian put her hand on her shoulder.

"No, you're strong. You had the chutzpah to pull all of this off. It's too bad it ended the way it did..." said Lillian, almost shaking at the memory of what happened in Carbonne, "Hey...I was just wondering; whatever happened to those resistance guys you were with? Did they go back home or get put into the rear or what?" replied Lillian.

Sasha looked away before realizing she couldn't bear to tell Lillian the truth. Sasha knew that Lillian and Kei had up close and personal encounters with the Looking Glass as well. She didn't want to think about it anymore. There really was nothing she could do about that situation. Maybe Tenenbaum deserved death for his crimes...he never seemed to repent for them. Sasha didn't want to remember that...so then she did something strange.

"I don't know. Well, I'd better go." said Sasha, rather abruptly.

As Sasha prepared to leave, she suddenly put her hand over Lillian's mouth and _kissed_ the back of her own hand where Lillian's lips would have been had the hand not been there. Sasha was beaming and Lillian looked as shocked as Sasha did when Izzo kissed her on the forehead.

"What...the hell was that?" said Lillian laughing.

"A token gesture. See you around." Sasha said putting a hand on her shoulder. As Sasha prepared to leave, Lillian tried to stop her with her hand.

"Hey! Stick around if you can stay up late...the raid's going down tonight. We're going to watch it in the briefing room." said Lillian as Sasha left the room.

"I can't wait for this. I want to meet Portia and wipe that smirk off her face." said Sasha with a grin.

"That's more than what I can say for most people. Most people just want her dead and gone." replied Lillian.

"I wish I had a gun on me just in case I get that chance..." said Sasha, leaving the room.

If only it were that easy; Sasha should have known that Portia never anything easy for anyone.

_**Vastos, Versua**_

_**January 12, 2017**_

_**1210 hrs**_

The command and control room was rather packed. This was all good for David, who'd never seen where all the chess masters that were the Command operated. However in this case, most of the bigwigs were not there. Operation Eclipse was to be a daring capture of Portia Masson, the corrupt ruler of the White Crow regime, and her top generals and staff members. The participating groups would be two companies consisting of the Marine's elite Force Recon, who would raid the Castle, and the Navy's SEAL Team 6, who would raid a secret White Crow held facility that command had found about only days ago. The Navy had been mostly held back due to the Dispater as they were unable to approach the south by sea. Now the Navy could act with impunity. With the Versuan Navy having been wiped out weeks ago, there was no threat as landing operations east of Ciudad began. The dominoes were all falling into place for the White Crow's collapse.

It seemed strange for Wardog as they were not participating in this mission. But a mission withheld was a good mission.This event seemed more like a spectator sport than an official Special Forces raid.Three teams, Bravo, Lima and Juliet surrounded the castle. Juliet had blocked the roads and Bravo and Lima had made the incursion.

Sasha looked forward to this. She wondered what her sister was thinking. No one said a word when the invasion began and soon the members of Wardog were chatting and whispering snide remarks to each other as the raid continued.

"Go, go, go!" said one of the soldiers.

David listed the usual banter of the room clearing exercise that every elite soldier went through on every mission. Sasha Masson had given the Allies architectural plans of the Castle and was assigned to positively identify Portia when the camera-carrying member of Lima team found her. They'd been ordered to take her alive...if possible.

"Clear left!"

"Clear right!"

"Room Three clear!"

"Room Four clear!"

"Hostiles down in Room Five...all clear." said another soldier.

"Any sign of the targets?" asked the commanding officer.

"Negative. We're still searching..."

One could cut the tension with a knife. However, things finally went right once Portia had been ID'd. Sasha got up arms out and pumping her fist and everyone cheered...but that cheering may have been premature.

"Bravo Seven, this Lima Three, we have the primary target cornered in the conference room. We have a positive ID on Portia Masson." said the Commander.

"Roger, move in and restrain her. Juliet 25, call in the birds." Jackson said over the radio.

"Command this is Bravo Seven, we are moving in to capture the primary target, over."

"Roger, use extreme caution. We want her alive...preferably." said George Mason Clarke.

David looked on the camera as he stood behind Sasha. The camera work was rather bad as it was probably interference that was making the picture bad.

"Lima Seven, move in. Drop her if she does anything sneaky." said Bravo Seven.

"What the hell is that?" said one of the soldiers.

"She's got a weapon!" said another one of the soldiers.

Sasha looked at Portia in the second the picture became clear. She felt those cold, piercing eyes staring right at her. She shook a moment then focused on the video again.

"Drop the weapon! NOW!" shouted Lima Seven.

Portia laughed manically on the TV screen. Portia was then staring right at the camera, blowing it a kiss.

"Drop it you say...fine. So be it." she said arrogantly. Suddenly, the sound of something hitting the floor could be heard and the camera on Lima Seven went out.Jackson became worried.

"What's going on?!" said Jackson to one of the operators. "I thought they had Portia contained!"

"The cameras?! What's going on!?" said Clarke.

"Maybe they're slacking off. Isn't a bit too early for the victory cigars?" said Sasha.

Jackson did not look on, but Kei and the others let out a snicker...except David. Despite his internal sadness, David Lovecraft's patience was thin. David was not in the mood for more sardonic comments being thrown around. It was twelve the morning and he was already wishing this would be over and done already. As much as he liked and respected Sasha, he was tired of her acid tongue; much less everyone else's saturnine remarks.

"Sasha, guys please...enough already! Jesus Christ!" David said.

That shut everyone up. David shook his head and turned back towards the screen, satisfied that he'd let his presence be felt. As David watched the screen, there was suddenly a massive blast that filled the satellite image of the castle. Everyone froze. Could it be? Could the White Crow have chosen death to capture...and took so many Allied soldiers with them?!

"What the hell?!" shouted one of the officers in the room.

"Is that an explosion?!" shouted Clarke. Sasha looked horrified and then started tugging violently on Jackson's collar.

"Oh no! The castle was booby trapped the whole time!" shouted Sasha to Jackson. "Pull your men out of the other facility! Now! Pull them out!"

"What's the status on the second raiding group!?" Jackson shouted on the radio. "Charlie 4! Sitrep!"

"This Charlie 4. We're...what the hell?! Get out! Get out! Move, move! There's a bomb..."

And with those words...the radio went silent. Everyone turned to everyone else and exchanged looks of shock and confusion. However it was Lillian Izzo who said it all for everyone else.

"Oh, my god." she said. That kicked off a long sequence of events that could only be summed up in one word: chaos. David compared it to a movie sequence. Had it been a movie sequence, this event would been a series of quick and staggered camera shots.

_What's going on?! _

_We've got gas alerts at the Gorgon's End area!_

_Chemical weapons? What the hell?! Do they have the proper countermeasures?!_

_Lima Three?! Anyone on this net respond!_

_Bravo Fifteen...what's going on out there?!_

_Romeo 77, what is your position over? Romeo 77! Respond!_

_This is Juliet 33, we have a massive explosion at the Castle, I'm pulling out the OP team!_

_Get the wounded out first and give me an update on any KIA and WIA!_

The others became frenzied and caught up in the action as they argued and shouted. David merely walked out in a daze, almost in complete disbelief in what he'd just seen. The others were equally confused as they degenerated into their own angry, confused conversations.

Lovecraft was not the smartest person in the world nor did he ever claim to be. Upon entering the air force, like all pilots, he was given an IQ test. David scored a 127. Kei scored 145. Lillian had a 131 and Cormorance had a staggering 160, though Fisch(who amazingly got a 122, despite his reputation of having bad judgment) argued that Alou's test was rigged.

David did not need the extent of his wife's IQ or his own to figure out that the war had ended just as brutally as it began.

For the Allies, the war began when Versua invaded Yuktobania. David's war began on October 1, when his daughter and nearly a thousand others died from a pair of superheated electrical blasts from a gigantic weapon. For David and Kei, the war was over. It seemed fitting that the leaders of the White Crow would immolate themselves rather than be captured and face justice. Perhaps it prepared them for the Hell where they would spend eternity. David felt for all those poor Force Recon soldiers who died in that exploding castle. However, this was the way that every war seemed to end...with death and fire.

David now regretted being back here. He wanted to be out there now. He wanted to help those men. The tragedy was that he could obviously do nothing from the stationary position at the Allied HQ. Surely the men and women inside felt the same. Maybe even Jackson felt the same; even though Jackson was an ass, David knew he was a patriot through and through.

David walked through the halls unmolested and approached one of the balconies. He looked up at the stars in the morning darkness and found the air to be cold and caustic. David took stock of the life he'd been through in just four days. The unity of aces over Carbonne, the subsequent destruction of Carbonne, the death of Grimm, Xalia giving up her life for David and the higher cause of destroying the weapon which took his daughter away from her parents. There was the destruction of the Dispater and the euphoria of victory...only to find out that Lauren killed herself over Grimm's death. A bizarre mixture of happiness and depression, anger and sadness, joy and bitterness, love and hate; they were all churning in David's soul...all of this in _four_ days. It didn't even count the tragedies of weeks before. Snow, Paulo, Polly and Michael dying, corpses drug through the streets of Basra, the attack on Disra...

David thought he was going insane. It all felt like a painful blur in his head and he had to close his eyes to gut out the pain. However, when he opened his eyes after the painful memories...he saw someone.

He blinked and he realized he was looking at a ghostly image. He was staring at the shade of his daughter.

"Catherine?" he said out loud.

"Hi, daddy." the apparition of Catherine said.

The ghostly figure was the exact Catherine he remembered when she died. She was wearing that beautiful white dress that Kei had bought her months earlier. The exact...same...type of dress that Sueltana wore...

Now it all fit together.

"I'd thought I'd never see you again." David said, not even aware of his surroundings. Perhaps he was insane.

The simulacrum of Catherine Lovecraft stretched out her hand and David couldn't stretch out his hand fast enough. He wanted to touch her and hold her one more time. He wanted to tell her he loved her and that he'd always protect her. The ghost was smiling the entire time. It was that beaming smile Catherine always had. But as he reached out to her, the shadow's hand vanished. David clutched his fist closed and dropped his hand back to his side.

Then, David suddenly opened his eyes...unaware that he'd been in own world the entire time and yet it felt so real. His hand was shaking the entire time. A tear rolled down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away; but it was not total sadness he felt. It was redemption.

Catherine's apparition was smiling, not only because it was her natural disposition. She was smiling because she knew he'd done what he'd sworn to do. He knew that he didn't need to do this to validate her life, but to avenge what happened to her. Or perhaps she was smiling because any guilt that David had need not have been; it wasn't his fault after all. However, during all of this terror, there was a voice in the back of his head...a voice of doubt that placed the blame on Lovecraft himself.

Now the doubt was gone; the pain was finally gone.

"Are you alright?" asked an obvious voice.

David turned and looked right in the eyes of Kei Nagase.

"Yes...I'm fine." David replied.

Kei said nothing else as she walked over to where the simulacra of Catherine stood. She reached out her hand to her side, as if she knew that was what David had seen before from the ghost in his head. David's hand was still shaking but he still extended it, although a bit slowly. Kei took his right hand into hers and rubbed her thumb across the top of his hand. David's hand stopped shaking. She then pulled his arm over to her and grabbed his other hand with her left. She finally pulled him closer to her and once again she held him against her own chest, her head along his other shoulder and her free hand softly rubbing along his back. David then remembered this moment from the past. It was the same thing she did six years ago in that night sky, just a day after they plucked her from the snows of Gulbina, Yuktobania.

Nagase savored the moment as she did not think her husband was insane simply because he was talking to himself. She knew what it was...she knew that he was saying his last goodbyes. As Kei did this, she thought about everyone who'd died once again. Now that everything had ended so violently, it didn't surprise her as much. She was just happy that things seemed to be over. She held the hope in her heart that the war would really end with the terrible destruction. But there was always a bit of doubt in the back of her mind. But what else could happen?

Her daughter had been avenged and everything seemed like it was in its right place. It seemed bizarre that none of Wardog was part of the action. Her body shook in the cold air outside, but she knew that the only thing they could do was reconstruct their lives and keep on living. Kei didn't realize it at the time, but the war, in fact, was coming to a close...

Kei and David's role in the vast drama would be a bittersweet one considering everything they'd been through. The story, however, was far from over...

Chapter 30: The Show Must Go On


	30. The Show Must Go On

Chapter 30: The Show Must Go On

"_Our lives are like acts in a play and we are only characters. However, we are allowed to choose our own roles." - Xalia Masson_

_**Veraci International Airport**_

_**November City, Osea**_

_**March 11, 2017**_

_**0900 hrs**_

_...investigators are still attempting to piece together what exactly occurred inside the Casta van Alde on January 12__th__. However, Marines searching the ruins have found the remains of Portia Masson..._

_...it is believed that over forty servicemen were killed during the raid. It is confirmed that chemical weapons were used in once instance..._

_...Osean Marines began rounding up top officers and political officials of the White Crow regime today and are expected to face charges including crimes against humanity. However, Allies are trying to curb vigilante justice by angry civilians against White Crow supporters but progress is minimal..._

_...while many White Crow officers have been rounded up, a few of the top "fish", by Allied vernacular, have disappeared including one the creators of the so called "Dispater" weapon..._

_...the exact toll of the war has yet to be calculated but is believed to around 13,000 Allied casualties and an estimated 100,000 casualties on the Verusans side including civilian deaths and injuries suffered from the massive electrical weapon that was destroyed three weeks ago..._

_...the first troops have returned home since they were deployed three months ago. From a logistical count, this war figures to be one of the costliest in Osean history in terms of monetary and military losses..._

_...despite having suffered from civil war for the past four years, Yuktobania has officially retaken the city of Cinigrad..._

_...a problem that some troops returning have is the adoption of Verusan war orphans who have survived several years of infighting among the Verusan people. Because of the political nature of the war, soldiers are complaining of the immense amount of red tape involved in the process. This is beneficial for those who wish to adopt a child to remedy their inability of have one of their own or to help the wounds of a terribly costly war..._

The Versuan War ended like most wars did...with death and media. After the disaster of Operation Eclipse, the pilot of Wardog tried to sort out what happened. However, they only stayed in country for two more weeks. David Lovecraft had to endure so much television and media about the war when it was over, he rediscovered why he hated television so much. He was never a fan of airports either. David Lovecraft became a fan of flying from the planes he saw over his house. He hated airports; they were loud, they were obnoxious, they were slow, the planes were always late, the service was terrible...

Not even Apito International Airport, the one that Wardog had saved from damage by Yuke terrorists years ago was a good airport. In fact, it was actually one of the worst airports in the country. However, Veraci was the best in Osea. But the flights were still delayed; then again, David did not want to go any more funerals. He was tired of killing; he was tired of death. And yet, death was always on the news. Those headlines were all he read, and most made him depressed as hell. Going to funerals was equally depressing. But it had to be done. Too many of their friends gave their lives so David could return home with Kei and Sueltana in peace.

First, Snow, then Michael, then Polly, then Paulo...and now they were ready to fly to South Belka...or North Osea, to see the last surviving member of the nuclear family of Grimm, Grimm's older brother and to pay their respects to the fallen Hans Grimm. The preceding funerals had been weeks ago, but Grimm's remains had yet to be found. His remains were finally been recovered from the tragic destruction of Carbonne by a group of patrolling Marines several days ago. David thought about Carbonne with anger...and wished the White Crow members would be executed and burn in Hell forever. Kei was not her rare, vicious self; however, she would agree with her husband sentiment.

Polly Elbe was more than likely to receive the Medal of Honor for her actions in bringing down the Azazael. David would have been for his actions at the Dispater...however, he couldn't receive it since it was still done under an alias. However, David and Kei did not care for any medals. They were just happy the war was over.

Everyone had gone their separate ways...almost. Cormorance and Lillian, as expected, stayed in the air force. However, Lillian received the Distinguished Service Medal and Cormorance the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Merit, and was promoted to Major. He was now taking a command post at Raven's Lake, which had been converted into a regular base for training pilots. Andrew Fisch received an Honorable Discharge and the Silver Star for some combat action in Basra.

Lucien Jackson was removed from his post as Black Ops Director and reassigned to another portion of Section Seven and George Mason Clarke was named the Director of Section Seven. Both Kei and David felt it was disturbing that he was never fully punished for the things he allegedly did. However, President Cohen agreed that his role would be minimal as he was far too talented to simply let go. David had to admit that despite his faults, Jackson did an excellent job of organizing intelligence. However, Lucien Jackson died suddenly a few weeks ago. The media reported it as a heart attack. However no one knew that a note was found near his body: _Carlo Tenenbaum sends his regards._

Serena Batiste had returned to Sotoa to be with her family. Although, Andrew Fisch got to her first and discussed something interesting with her before she left. He asked her a question and she politely said no. Kei was happy for the foul-mouthed hard charging Sotoan woman. She earned her reward. However, apparently since being accepted into the Spade Six mercenary company, Fisch had become an unofficially spokesman, or rather lobbyist, for the company. Allegedly, he'd convinced several other regular pilots to leave and join the group.

Which led to the story of Ammon Kaida and Sasha Masson that was about to play out in this very airport…

David, Kei and Sueltana were dressed in their Sunday best, albeit in all black, for this flight. It was actually Sueltana's idea to dress nice at the airport. That was because of the story she told her adoptive father before he took down the Dispater. In a way, David and Kei were paying respects to her real parents who had been dead for years, caught up in upheaval of the civil war in Yuktobania. Ammon, Sasha, David, Kei and Sueltana were all sitting together at the airport waiting area as they were leaving for two different destinations.

"Why are your eyes two different colors?" asked Sueltana.

"Well, when you guys were gone, I had an operation. I had surgery to replace the eye I lost. No more eye patch. You're the one who said it looked silly!" said Kaida.

"I did not!" Sueltana countered back.

David looked at the different colored shades of green that Kaida had for eyes. It was so hard to spot from a distance, but clearly Suetlana called it out. Ammon and Sasha had to flee the country because of chaos involving Resistance members, who had fractured upon the death of Carlo Tenenbaum, were hunting down White Crow supporters to a man. Sasha had wanted to return under support of the Allies, but she would have to negotiate with the resistance...and they'd listen to her.

As for Kaida, he'd suffered a terrible infection to his eyes and nearly lost his eyesight for good. He'd already lost an eye from the battle in Valuria. However, they had been repaired to top form by a revolutionary surgery known as Oculus Proxy Surgery. By chance, it was perfected at the Dakota University Medical Center, just a stone's throw away from St. Helene. Now Kaida had a set of artificial computerized eyes which worked better than his normal eyesight. The only problem was the price tag of 13,000 dollars. Kei thought it was an absurd price tag considering breast augmentation was half that. Of course, it wasn't until Kei knew Ammon and Sasha on a more personal level that she realized both of them were filthy rich. That made their feats more astonishing considering they could have stayed at home and sat on their money.

David and Kei opened their home to the two while they attended the funerals of their friends. Kaida spent that time recovering from the procedure as he was blind for nearly two weeks. The only problem was that the different shades of green eyes; the false eye and the real eye. Sueltana's attention to detail was becoming rather keen.

Now, the only thing was...now what? Sasha was free to return from the sojourn to lead the Versuan people into a new era. The only issue was...would Ammon be a part of it?

If one were to ask David or Kei, all signs pointed to no. A week ago, having barely finished the rehabilitation, Ammon rented a car, drove to the Dakota Airport and flew a red eye flight (no pun intended) to Qured to meet with Andrew Fisch and a surprise visit with Jaklyn Ors (although Sasha was unaware of it). They were going to tour the adjutant headquarters of the infamous Spade Six Corporation. The main headquarters were in North Point. The Spade Six people rolled out the red carpet for the wide-eyed Ammon, Fisch and Ors with week of glitzy hotels, limos, strip clubs, bars, and nightlife. Sasha was stunned when she learned about the surprise trip. But Ammon said he would undertake a serious period of consideration.

Sasha thought that Ammon joining a mercenary group was beneath that man. Then again, there was one more important reason to be concerned: she still wanted him in her life.

There was still the resentment still over the incident of infidelity Ammon admitted; however, he was still a good person. He still played an integral role in saving Versua from Portia's self-destructive campaign. Then again, a part of Sasha still loved him; and he was the father of her child. However, being the realist that she was...she had to consider the possibly reality of life without Ammon Kaida. That made her angry and sad that he would even _consider_ leaving Sasha and her unborn child.

David and Kei did not want to interfere...but they sided with Sasha. It was ironic since Sasha knew that they came from broken, fatherless homes...just as Ammon Kaida did. Though Kaida knew his father, he hardly saw him. However, this married couple had seen it all...not to Sasha's surprise.

Sueltana looked around as they waited for their airplane. Sueltana remembered the embarrassment of puking on the chopper flight in Versua and she was not going to embarrass herself this time. She was beautiful today and took an intense pride in her fashion. She was determined to be the best looking eleven year old girl at this airport. Apart from her broken Osean tongue, she had fit in well with this new life. It was much like her life in Cinigrad; the parts she could remember anyway.

Sasha still sat in a trance as Kaida had his carryon bags near him. Sasha should have found that suspicious to have carry-on only for a long flight and a trip like this. The problem for Sasha was that in order to get to Verusa, she would have to fly to Sotoa and then fly another plane to Sasna Aven in Clavis. That was because of the Yuke No-Fly Zone. She held the ticket in her hand, fiddling it around with her fingers. As she did that, doubt entered her mind. Would her appearance really change things? She'd heard bits and pieces of the news about what was going on in Verusa...and it wasn't all good. The Allies were scaling back and the Verusan resistance groups were fracturing apart. She hoped that she could change things. But the longer she thought about it...the more doubt there was in her head.

Suddenly, a voice came over the PA system. "Gate 5, flight delayed ten minutes."

Kaida groaned. "Goddamn. I got to wait longer. Damn Osean airports."

"Excuse me?" said Sasha whirling around in shock. Suddenly, her jaw hit the floor when she realizing what she'd heard and knew. Gate 5 was to North Hampton, a place that Sasha knew very well...in _North Point_. Tears almost filled her eyes. Then, to drive the point home, she saw Andrew Fisch, Jaklyn Ors, and three others passing Sasha with bags in their hands in Sasha's peripheral vision. Kaida gave them a wave and David then noticed what was going on.

"So...you're going? You're..." Sasha asked, as if she'd seen the gates of Hell and lived to tell the tale.

"Yeah...I am. A new life is on the other side of that gate. I was already accepted to Spade Six. It was just an inconvenience that it fell on this day. I signed the contract on my trip to Oured. The approval just came in yesterday." said Kaida simply. Kaida got up and paced around a bit as Sasha got up angrily as a hornet...but took a deep breath once she'd realized what she was going to say.

"You would just leave us?! You would just do this to me?! To _us_?!" said Sasha angrily as pointing to the small extension on her stomach, referring to her unborn child, "...all to be a paid soldier?! I have to say goodbye to a friend...just so you can jet-set and do your own thing?!"

Kaida didn't hesitate in his response. He pulled her aside.

"Do you really think it's going to work? Do you believe this crazy plan is going to work? As if you can show up and lead people? It's not that I don't think you can lead people...but you can't do this! And you're not going to have any support! I'm sorry if I'm being cruel, but it's the truth."

"What..." said Sasha. Kaida had her right where he wanted her.

"I'm sorry. But I can never go home again. Neither of us can. When I was in Oured, I talked to Fisch and he agreed with me. He thought you were insane for this. And the more I think about it, you're not going to be the one to lead our people to this fabled Promised Land...based solely on our history." said Kaida.

"Bullshit! History means nothing! The future! That's what matters!" said Sasha shoving Ammon away from her. Kei tried to stop them, but David held her back.

"It doesn't…really? Look, I don't mean to be harsh. But the past matters. We can talk about the future all we want...but it's never going to change. I thought long and hard about it...and there's no conceivable reason that any of this is going to change. Our country has been hell for a thousand years. Listen, when Osea was founded, reasonable, enlightened, smart people with a dream of freedom created laws and opportunities for the future. Our country was founded by religious, chauvinist psychopaths...and that hasn't changed much in a millennia. We can't change that. This country is younger and more advanced. They hadn't had as long for this resistance to change to be embedded in the minds of all. Everyone who tries change the world does it the wrong way...and no one buys it anymore. I mean, you father tried to change our land...yeah, how'd that work out? Why do you think the resistance is splitting up!? It's easy to change ideas...it's hard to change a culture. It's hard to change beliefs. People die and kill to protect them." said Ammon, pacing around. Sasha still froze.

"Sasha...what you want, this mystical land of _all men are equal_...is a lie. It _doesn't_ exist! Not even here! What you want doesn't exist anymore...and it never has. A thousand years...no one's got it right. What makes you think you can?" said Kaida stepping back from her with his arms out.

Ssaha simply looked furious at first. Was she really disposable? Where her beliefs really that foolish?

"But I know what you really want. We all have to make selfish decisions in our lives. There is nothing we can do. Believe me, I want to help too...we can't change our people ourselves. There aren't enough people who believe what we do. There just isn't. However, we are lucky...we're in the land of milk and honey! Look around. I know you wanted to be free. Free of everything that broke your heart. Free of everything that stressed you out and made you afraid."

"Look around! This is it! This country _is_ freedom! Remember what I told you. You were going to go to Verusa and follow an impossible dream. However...here...you can do anything you want. Take what you want! There's a door back there; a door to freedom. Rip up that plane ticket and be free! Find out what you _really_ want." said Kaida pointing to the entrance doors.

Sasha thought about it for a long minute. She did all of this to save her people from Portia's wrath and insane blood thirst. She followed Tenenbaum's lead, even though he was a murderer, and took the initiative. But she'd deluded herself into believing that she could be the person that could do what her father did...the right way. Carlo believed the same...but he was dead. She'd spat in the faces of everyone who disagreed with her dream. Mary Cohen, Lucien Jackson, George Mason Clarke, Cormorance Alou, Andrew Fisch, Jaklyn Ors...and now...she was spitting in the face of someone she cared about...Ammon Kaida. How could all of them be wrong though?

Sasha was forced to face the harsh reality of things: she could nothing to help her people. There wasn't even a guarantee the people _would _want her in charge.

David noticed Sasha beginning to back down from her body language. David said nothing as he didn't want to interfere with their problems. But Kei was getting antsy and pissed off at Kaida's words irrelevant of the fact that David knew that Kaida's points made perfect sense. David noticed Sasha begin to cry. David knew it right then...Ammon was right.

"You're right. I've been holding onto a past that's not me. I've been holding onto a dream that I can't make come true. It's too much for me. I have to sit back and let it all happen because I'm too weak and stupid and naive to change anything. I'm insane...what was I thinking? Everyone was telling me the same thing..." said Sasha, grabbing her head.

"That's a lie! The future is what you make of it Sasha! Don't let him-" Kei shouted. But Kaida shut Nagase down.

"Enough! Why is it your business?! Stay out of this. You broke your beliefs to come over here…you've got no stones here, Nagase." he countered. David's eyes bulged.

Kei whirled around to David who gave him a look of shock.

"No...He's right. I wanted to be free. That dream is something I can make come true. But...I want it with you." Sasha said, holding her arm up to stop Nagase.

"I can't. Our worlds are going in two different directions. We can't make the same decisions in reverse and be functional." said Kaida.

"I guess you're right." Sasha said, defeated.

Suddenly, Kaida fished around in his carry-on bag and retrieved a blond envelope. He gave it to the distraught woman and Sasha looked in confusion.

"What is this?" Sasha asked.

"A divorce settlement; a bit creative but..." Kaida said with a smirk.

Sasha opened the envelope and saw a bank statement from the World Bank. On it, there were the balances of both Sasha and Ammon. Of the 50 million in Ammon's account, 35 million suddenly appeared in Sasha's account.

"What the..."

"Half of my assets. I think that takes care of the child support." Kaida said with a bigger smirk. Sasha arched an eyebrow.

"I wasn't going to take you to the cleaners, Ammon!" said Sasha in shock.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not starving or hurting for money. You go have some fun with that. You deserve it" said Ammon with a smile.

Sasha folded up the piece of paper and put it into her pocket. For the longest moment, they stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence.

"I'll try my best to be in the child's life. But I cannot make any promises. I'm sorry." said Ammon softly.

Kei and David looked horrified. Try? There was no _try_ in a child's life. That was a slap in the face of these two. Could they really take life for granted like this...even unborn life? Kei thought he was treated that kid and Sasha as an inconvenience

"That's more than I was expecting from you. It hurts my heart and it makes me sick and it makes me pissed off. But...I understand you and what you're saying. I want to find that happiness. I hope you do too." said Sasha sadly.

And with that, Sasha and Ammon hugged each other for a long moment. Afterwards, Sasha pulled away and walked away without turning to face Ammon. She stood in front of the large amount of televisions showing news programming. She blocked out the world as she saw the chaos reported around the media.

David and Kei had witnessed the tragedy of this torn relationship with their own eyes and both thought about how lucky they were that their friendship and their love had survived unimaginable tragedy. Amazingly, Sueltana summed it up with two simple words. "So sad."

David got up and walked over to Kaida. A part of him wanted to punch Kaida in the face for treating his wife so callously. He may have had valid points, but to just give her pregnant wife some cash and prepare to bolt the country was simply bush league. It spoke less of him as a man. Then again, perhaps his standards were too high. Now doubt entered his mind. Then again...he knew about the private sector of mercenary hiring...and the brutal truths involved. He was right though...Versua was split and struggling.

"Gate 5, Boarding now." said the voice over the PA system. David walked over to Kaida, but Ammon wanted to extend the olive branch.

"I wanted to thank you for your hospitality..." Ammon started.

"Look, you've told me that a million times. It's starting to make me sick." said David, being a bit passively aggressive.

"I know...take this. I've had it for years and I figure you'd want it back." said David.

David could have almost cried when he saw it: the old picture. It was the old picture of him and the others at Sand Island. It was that old newspaper article about the Four Wings of Sand Island...in a picture frame. The one where Edge and Blaze met and Archer and Chopper were still alive all those years ago. Kei wasn't impressed, but she knew he was trying to bury the hatchet. However, it didn't make any of this right.

"Hey Cochise!" shouted Fisch from across the hall, "Let's go! We're running behind!"

Kaida turned a sly smile towards the couple. Kaida had gotten used to the recent sobriquet from Andrew Fisch.

"That's my cue. The bird has sung its swan song and I away I go. I'm leaving on a jet plane and I don't know when I'll be back again." said Kaida in a poetic voice, "Take care of yourselves, you four."

"What?" asked Sueltana. She was confused; math was not her strong suit and yet his or her math couldn't _that_ bad for him to get four people out of three unless...

Kei blushed a bit and David shook his head. There was no more explanation needed. However, Kei wanted to take a bit of revenge for Sasha.

"At least this kid knows his dad won't skip out on him for some paid gig." said Kei in the parting shot. However, Kaida was not fazed.

"Touche. Well, I'd better go. David...you stay golden now. You stay golden." said Kaida. "I can't stay here and I can't go home again. The show must go on..."

David wasn't sure what he meant...though he swore he'd heard that in a book somewhere. Kaida then walked off to join the others in the Gate. He looked back for long a brief moment as Sasha caught his eyes. But in a look of firm resolve, he went into the gate...and Ammon Kaida was gone to wherever the hell North Hampton was.

Kei Nagase was furious at this display of callousness by Kaida to Sasha. Sasha was a sweet, pretty woman who never hurt anybody and had a heart of gold; she deserved better than this from her now ex-husband. Kei was pissed off that Fisch had the gall to lead Kaida down a road of death and greed as a mercenary pilot. Kei was pissed off that Jaklyn Ors had to be so damn good looking and well endowed to lead Kaida down a road of marital destruction. She was pissed off at Cormorance...for being right this entire time about Verusa. She was pissed off at Kaida for being so cold and unloving, merely going through the motions so he could have any woman he wanted. She was pissed that this woman, so endearing and sweet that even Lillian Izzo felt the need to kiss her, was all alone in some damn airport. She was pissed that she fought though hell for her dead daughter and the people she cared who gave their lives...gave them for a man who would simply dump his lovely wife to jet set around the world for money.

If that had happened to Nagase, she would have committed homicide. However, she was not pissed off at David, her husband, as much. She knew he would never be so callous. Of course, Kei didn't know the entire story about the two...but Kei didn't give a damn about that. She knew from her own eyeball test that Sasha had been slighted in a brutal, cold fashion. The fact she couldn't stop it made it more tragic.

Kei looked at Sasha, staring at the airport televisions in a religions trance. From twenty feet away, Kei could see her saline tears; a part of Kei wanted to cry.

"That poor woman...she deserved better. How could he...?" she said to herself.

David was lost in a myriad of thoughts himself. He thought about it all...and his daughter, Grimm and so many others. It all seemed so wrong and bizarre. He looked at his wife walk over to Sasha and put her arms around her.

"It's going to okay. You're going to be okay." Kei said softly to the teary eyed woman.

Sasha forcefully pushed away.

"I'll be fine. But he was right. Everything is right in front of me. Freedom. So few of us get that choice." said Sasha.

David thought it was a ridiculous notion for this woman to just accept this and move on so quickly. She couldn't be that hardened of a woman...not at 22 years of age. David approached her as well, looking into her puppy dog eyes.

"Do you need anything? Do you want to come with us? You know you're always welcome in our home if you want to stay."

"No...But thank you." she said, ripping the plane ticket apart. "He was right. I'll find the future I like. I'll find the future my child deserves. I'll find that one true love I desire. All of it is out there...and I'm the one who has to take the steps."

She then kissed Kei and David on both cheeks each and walked off slowly to the entrance to the airport.

"Sasha! You don't have to do this alone. You'll always be loved." David exclaimed.

"I know. But I'm the one who has to take the initiative. My sister once told me something: Our lives are like acts in a play and we are only characters. However, we are allowed to choose our own roles. Our lives are like a bunch of plays...the actors can sometimes leave and the new ones replace them. The plays go on...and so must we. The people come to see it...and the show must go on." said Sasha, repeating the words of Ammon. There were no more tears in her eyes.

She prepared to leave, when the eleven year old girl ran up...almost wishing to get in on the drama. Sasha leaned down to her and touched her on the shoulder. But she said nothing to her save a smile and a pat on the head. She looked at David and Kei fora long period of time. No one said anything. Sasha then walked away, almost dragging her feet. The couple from Sand Island looked on with only silent, melancholy faces. Sasha stood at the entrance, holding the door with her right hand. She turned back to them, then quickly away. Sasha took a few hesitant steps into the morning light...and walked into the sunshine. She was going to find her own path...her own happiness.

Kei and David both felt as if they were watching a movie where the bad guy won. Kei turned away, her face and her jaws shut tightly, her razor-like cheekbones stretching out she gritted her teeth in sheer rage. Her breathing was a soft hiss, but David looked a bit indifferent.

"He was right." David said.

"What?!" Kei shouted. David turned to Kei.

"There's only so much we can change. The only thing we can change is what we control. Let's focus on us...we can help that. Let's be lucky we're together. Let's be lucky we won't leave each other outside death." said David. Kei froze, and smiled.

"Yes. I am grateful for you." said Kei, kissing her husband. She then turned away with a frown.

Kei knew there was nothing she could do for them. She could only hope for the best. It was tragic and callous...but perhaps both of them thought their futures would be bright. Rather than brood over it, she realized the future was better with hope. David had figured that fact out long ago.

As their gate was finally called, the trio picked up their bags and they walked down the long silver, open hall to their gate. David thought about everyone, even his daughter. Then he thought about the man who died for them. Hans Grimm came to Verusa to help David and Kei and seek revenge for what happened to Lauren Weiss. But alas, he died trying to save those poor people of Carbonne and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Lauren took her own life and it seemed like a horrible Romeo and Juliet moment. But Hans was a man with class, who stepped into do the missing man formation when Polly died and who played the bigger man in his spats with Comorance.

If there was one proper tribute to that man...it was the one that Kei did for them when they were reunited all those weeks ago. Just before they got to the gate...David stopped the clan and decided to remember the man

"To Archer and to us...being other together again. Let's thank him for giving up his life so we could be together." David finally said. Kei realized what he was doing...just as she'd done with Grimm and David so many weeks ago. She put her hands on the shoulders on her husband and Sueltana. Neither felt uncomfortable by this. The touch was more than simple friendliness. It was an affection that went beyond words or friendship. It was love. Deep down, these three loved each other. It was these bonds that kept them together though all of the toxic tragedies they'd suffered, in and out of war: Lauren's death Catherine, Kei's miscarriage, and the deaths of Chopper, Grimm's mother, Snow, Michael, Pops, Paulo, Polly, Grimm, Xalia and all those people who had died when they fought, enemy or friend.

For a moment, David closed his eyes and Kei did the same. After a moment, a confused Suetlana who played along...looked u at David putting his arm around his wife's neck.

"Together again." Kei finally said.

"Together again." Sueltana said, not missing a beat. Kei let go of her husband and moved to embrace Sueltana, picking her up and kissing the diminutive girl. They all hugged each other. The group hug didn't catch a whole lot of attention, but it was a necessary affection for these three souls. Suddenly, they felt invincible. Nothing would stop them and they would live forever. David saw no more ghosts of his daughter. She was smiling from heaven and her happiness breathed through him.

"I love you guys." said David with a tear in his eye.

"I love you both of you too." Kei said. The trio looked at each other with smiles. They almost forgot they were going to a funeral...but the excitement of the moment was too much.

David Lovecraft and Kei Nagase finally shed their old mantras and their call signs. For the remainder of their lives...they would never refer to themselves as Blaze or Edge again. The display had killed their old selves. They were a family now...and nothing would stop them. For the Lovecraft family...their show went on.

But for Ammon Kaida...the show was not finished. Kaida found himself sitting next to the window as he was thousands of feet above the ground. There was the overwhelming feeling that the story suddenly became his to tell. As the plane flew on, he found Jaklyn's head fast asleep on his shoulder and Fisch reading up on the lines in Vegas.

The only thing was this: Kaida remembered a news piece on the Dispater.

_...while many White Crow officers have been rounded up, a few of the top "fish", by Allied vernacular, have disappeared including one the creators of the so called "Dispater" weapon..._

Kaida knew the people who created that horrible weapon. They were all equally crazy and crafty people, especially Praeten Percival. Kaida knew about Dimitri Ignis and his maniacal creations as well. Neither Percival nor Ignis had been accounted for. From second hand information, Kaida knew that Zorba and Makin were dead. Those men struck Kaida as cold and evil men straight from the abyss. Neither man deserved to be free...especially after what they did. Carbonne was still fresh in Kaida's mind. Portia was long dead and in Hell, thankfully. But what happened to Percival and Ignis?

However, he heard more news that could have affected his career in Spade Six. He was watching the news on the television on the plane.

_...in other news, an Ultra Nationalist movement began in Estovakia today as revolts lasted into the night the Grozenja City Square..._

As Kaida connected the dots...something was afoot here. But Kaida quickly dismissed it as pure speculation as he tried to think of something else. However, one thing was certain...

"The show must go on..." he said to himself. But he couldn't lie to himself; he knew that it wasn't over yet. There were still more wars to fight and as long as people existed, war would thrive…and money always went where war did.

Next: Epilogue


	31. Epilogue

Note: I've cancelled my sequel to this story for several personal reasons. However, I would be doing the fans of this fic a disservice if I did not end it properly given the new developments. Over the next few weeks, I'll make some corrections to the story to fix any grammatical errors or typos. Thank you for reading my fic and I hope to enjoy your work as well.

Epilogue

_**Psel District**_

_**Cinigrad, Yuktobania**_

_**December 1, 2027 **_

_**2000 hrs**_

There was a room in an old apartment flat in Cinigrad.****Ice and snow blanketed the city in its white embrace. Darkness shaded the city and the lights of the town shone like stars; it was as if space was turned upside down. The apartment had little electricity running. The only electrical power was plug to the computer, an outdated one, but it served the purposes of the user. There were candles lit everywhere and the bed had no stands, it was merely a box spring on top of a mattress; only two and a half feet from the floor. There were a few boxes around room and everything was cold, even though lanterns and candles illuminated the darkness of the room.

A raven haired woman walked across the old linoleum floor. She was only shielded from the cold by a thick blanket covering her slight form armored only by her t-shirt and pink shell underwear. However, she did not shiver. She could see her own breath in the freezing room. And yet, she could not be happier.

"Home sweet home." she kept saying to herself. It was a far cry from her home of old. But after nearly fourteen years, the vagabond Yuke girl was finally home and had been here for a year. Nothing was the same and yet, nothing had changed. The country had not still fully recovered from the war years past, but at least things were much better than before. The raven haired woman blew out a few candles and sat at a desk with only a red book, a radio and a few other things scattered across it. There was a newspaper clipping near her left hand: Versuan Militias Agree to Cease-fire. There was a picture of the woman's benefactors taken just a year ago. She remembered the goodbye and the long flight from the Alaska District of Northern Osea to here. She played with a pen, flipping across her knuckles and dropping it a few times before she finally started writing.

_It's been a long time since I've written anything in a diary.__So here goes I guess..._

_How I describe this place? It is not Heaven on Earth, but it is close. This is the home of my birth. I came a longing like a rhapsodic song calling me home. Or perhaps it would be a cryptic message in a drawing or a painting. I believe that would be right up my alley. My home is so familiar yet it so alien in its regards. Where my parents' house stood there lays an old apartment. From what I know, someone died here but for the price I got this place...I cannot complain._

_Ten years after Versua tore itself apart, it's still a hell I wish not to remember. It is the reason I cannot be warm again. Well, that's too extreme. I cannot bear the sight of sand anymore. The coarse mineral of this planet makes me sick to my stomach. I want to remember the past my own way...not forced by dust. However, there was plenty of good there. In fact, it is the reason I am here now. I remember being a child, going from place to place with my exposed rib cage, picking scraps from the garbage cans. Then he found me. His hair was as dark as night. His eyes...his eyes...they were like my father's eyes. Brave. Insightful. Calm. Audacious. Then I met her. Eyes and hair like the brown of dying grass. Beautiful. Intelligent. Implacable. Gentle. They became my family. It was I they embraced, a proxy for a dead girl. However, a song called me here. A song from the ghosts of my past and they understood. They cared for me for nine years and I left for home. A tearful goodbye from an airport and I was leaving on a jet plane, and I didn't know when I was coming back again. I said goodbye to Lovecraft and Nagase, their kids: the twins of nine years, Ran and Tasha, as well as the little one named Astrid._

_I traveled light. I always traveled light. Sometimes I'd wear the same clothes two days in a row. I could never fully embrace this materialistic consumption Osea had to offer. However, it was a wonderful thing to take advantage of. With me, I took all my art supplies, I took Jakob, the man I cared for and a fellow Yuke vagabond of old. The boxes around me are all things I was sent by the people I loved. I turn them into art. The keepsakes are what I always carry as remembrance. I keep them all in a special, waterproof, but easily carried case I spent a fortune on in Osea. It is my link to everyone who's touched my life; the good and the bad._

_Everything inside is nearly organized and no label is needed. I know what each of these items stand for._

_The first is a uniform insignia. They are the ace wings, awarded to a pilot who shoots down five planes. This is my tribute to David Lovecraft, the man who dared to protect me and defend me. The man who dared to love where so little remained after being dragged into such a terrible war. The man who never wanted praise for what he did but always delivered when everything was lost. The second is a beautiful blue jeweled necklace. This is my tribute to Kei Nagase. This jewel was handed down from David's mother to Kei and from Kei to me on my eighteenth birthday. So it goes into my chest of remembrance. So it goes as a tribute to a woman who dared to love and who dared to break the rules for what was right._

_The third is a drawing; a tracing of charcoal of a cross and a goddess wrapping her beautiful form around it. This is the homage to Cormorance Alou, the man who fought against his own race and for his adopted country. He was the man who was always the professional; always the acerbic man but always did his duty with ruthless and cold efficiency. Sure enough, he still does it and his wife Potenza is a machine for the birth canal as they now have six kids now. I'd like to have kids someday, but __**six**__, God bless that woman._

_The fourth is a set of dice I bought in Vegas. This is the remembrance of the simplistic but skilled, flawed but respectable Andrew Fisch. He was the man who taught me how to count cards and when to spot a sucker bet. He was, more importantly, the man who fought even though he was always a cynical one and never had many beliefs except getting the job done and going home. I think he's part of the PMC business; the private military sector. I have not heard from him in three years, but his homage will always be here._

_The fifth is a book on arachnids. This is for Lillian Izzo, the funniest, strangest woman I've ever met. She was always so close to everyone. She may have been an odd customer, but she always showed up when it mattered. Heaven help anyone who thought she was too strange to do her job. She writes like me, but she has a book about the war now called __**Catch a Lighting Wave**__. I didn't care much for the title, but it went bestseller and now she rides its success. I was stunned by the details of the book as so much more went on than my child eyes saw. She's working on another book now. I still don't know what orientation she is, but then again...who cares?_

_The sixth is a picture of the Wardog team with three people circled. However, this one is for Paulo Scirro and Michael Sachsenronde. I did not know them well, but they were still people who touched me. They were part of Wardog and gave their lives to make sure I and everyone else was safe. Scirro left a family behind, but I have no idea what they are up to now. I know they are somewhere up above watching and flying in the fighter jets Heaven has. Those planes could probably mop the floor with the F-22s. What would they call it, the F/A-900 Divine?_

_The seventh is the black mascara case that once belonged to Polly Elbe. That is self explanatory. I do not use it, lest I ruin a sacred memory of the parting, heavy drinking Boston woman. She was a woman who was not afraid of spilling all her secrets, even ones concerning sexual encounters and bar fiascos. They always made me laugh. I would have put a bottle of wine here...but Jakob would have taken it and gotten drunk._

_The eighth is the propaganda letter from the rebels of the Verusan War. I got it recently from a woman who I did not even know David knew until I told him about her two years ago. Her name was Rue Daydenko. She was living with her husband in Rouge Park, where I crashed for a few months while I went to technical college. She was a rather kind and beautiful woman. She'd lost her son in that terrible destruction of Basra over ten years ago. And speaking of that... _

_The ninth is a piece of that horrid machine Dispater; the center of many nightmares and worry. The device that took so many lives: enemy, friend, and civilian. Now it has long since been derelict. The Versuans, even though they still fought among themselves, had sense enough to leave the detritus of that monster alone to remind them of the folly of such fevered ambition. Personally, I would have packed it full of animal manure and grown food there...but we can't always get what we want._

_The tenth is a scarf that belonged to the attractive Sasha Masson. She gave it to me when I saw her crying and leaving that airport, her husband having abandoned her for a life in the mercenary corps. She has a new husband now, and often goes back to Verusa for charity. As for Kaida, I grew up angry at him and so did Kei, but __**she, **__Sasha__**,**__ was never fully angry at him. Her remembrance is for her actions. She was one of the bravest of all, defying her own leaders to save her people's lives. I gave the sun dress that Kei got me for my eleventh birthday to her daughter Mara. It looks more beautiful on her than on me. I went with her back to Versua a few years ago...where I found the next articles of my museum._

_The eleventh is a white orchid. The flower's duality of both beauty and toxic agent reminds me of Ammon Kaida, the man of two faces. Betrayer all. He too defied the evil empire to help save the day, but in the end, he left the woman he loved to pursue a life of money and fast girls in the PMC business. He's still living in North Point, the last time I checked, shacked up with another woman. _

_The twelfth is a blue orchid. This simple item is for everyone who died in that war. I cannot hate my enemies or grieve enough for all those innocent people. What is done is done, and only I can keep them alive. It's mainly for all the men and women who served alongside my benefactors, and even poor Lauren who took her own life in such brutal fashion. Then it represents the anti-heroes, Sasha's sister, the brave Xalia among them. Then, oddly, there are the villains. I could not hate them as Kei would say that hate makes you dig two graves, one for you and your enemy. It was from Sasha I received this from the ruins of her old home, the Castelle van Stijl. Too many dead to name and at least with this, I can keep this precious and necessary memory alive._

_The thirteenth is a gift I have sealed away in an envelope never to see the light of day unless I need it. It is a picture of my parents and me. Whenever I find myself losing the memory, I only look them in this surviving photo of my parents for a few seconds. Then I quickly put it away and seal back up. All of us in our best clothing, all of us in one embrace and with this last photo, I take them with me everywhere. I went through hell to find this keepsake. Often times I just cradle it when I sleep and pretend I am a child again._

_I look up and at the sleeping Jakob; poor man, having to put up with me and all my junk for art and my constant badgering about whether I should say this line or not. This apartment still sucks, but I can't complain. I can already tell that only happiness is here._

Sueltana put the book down and walked over to the window where ice and cold had frosted the window. She put her hand on it and let it go numb along the cold. She opened it and touched the ice on the seal for awhile. She finally took her hand off the white cold state of matter and closed the window. She stared out the foggy window for a long time. Water droplets were coming down onto the window seal. She dried her soaked hand against her shirt beneath the blanket. She looked into the city that had always been her home even though she had not seen it in nearly a decade and a half.

A part of her heart always lay here and yet, another part of it would always lie in another cold place where the family who'd accepted her lived now. She once felt that her home would be with the two ace pilots who were both ruthless and compassionate. Sueltana wondered what they were doing now. They were eleven hours ahead so it would be eight in the morning and just as cold as it was here. They were probably getting Tasha and Ran ready for school while Kei was still struggling to care for that adventurous three year old Astrid. However, Sueltana knew she was destined to return here. She knew she would always be welcome back home...and here as well. However, she recognized no one. Cinigrad was an alien planet now.

Sueltana closed her eyes and enjoyed the chill of the room. Homesick would have been a strange term to make the universe collapse in on itself. No matter if she was here or back in Alaska, she would be home. However, she missed the longing from David and Kei, who cared for her with no scruples. A tear came from her eye realizing the bittersweet taste of her life now. She could never truly figure out if she belonged here or not. However, the litmus test was those two people. They were made for each other...and Sueltana was made for them. She'd talk with them via email, but that was not enough. She wanted to touch them, to kiss them and have their skin wrap her in their embrace once more.

She missed them. She would have to see them again.

Sueltana ditched the covering she had and threw it across the room to the pile in the corner. She retreated from the icy window and crawled into the rather cheap bed's heavy red cloth with Jakob. She lay on her back and simply stared at the ceiling. She had an early start tomorrow. She had to do her one mile run around the neighborhood. She had to go to the market and she promised Yuri she'd go with her to the Botanical Gardens. Then she had to finish her work for the magazine before Monday. She would have to plan the reunion tour around her next day off.

Just as she closed her eyes, she had finished using the remote for the radio to turn down the volume. However, as she did that a news report came over the airwaves. Another war had started somewhere on Usea. Even though it was of no consequence to the young woman, Sueltana still had a deep worry.

It seemed so strange. She'd accepted that war would always be a part of human life. And yet, she still wondered where all reason went. She wondered if David and Kei thought the same thing while they kept trying to keep the normal flow of the day going. She wondered if Kaida and Fisch were still fighting out over there earning cash and fast women, even when they were pushing forty. She wondered if Cormorance mentioned it in the squad lounge at McNealy Air Force Base. She wondered if Lillian was watching it on the news while she typed laboriously away in a penthouse in Oured. Did anyone in Versua care? And what about souls of the dead up in the heavens above or hells below? Where they concerned? Did they wonder with glee that more souls would join them? Or did they look away in disgust?

She couldn't think about it anymore. She had to enjoy the peace she had now. The life she'd carved out from the calling of a song. She turned her body away from Jakob as she usually did save an occasional intimate embrace. She faced her dreams to the east, where a song from Alaska was still calling her home.


End file.
